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Trump asks US Supreme Court to pause law threatening TikTok banGlobal Times: People's Daily article says favorable conditions for China's economic development remain unchangedOver the weekend, Blake Lively elevated herself into the pantheon of famous Hollywood women who have taken monumental, #MeToo-inspired stands against sexual predation in the entertainment industry. The 37-year-old star not only publicly detailed her own painful experience with sexual harassment on the set of her movie, “It Ends With Us,” in a legal complaint and in a viral New York Times story , she also chronicled the way she was allegedly targeted by a sophisticated social media “smear campaign” during the film’s release in August. The purpose of this campaign, allegedly orchestrated by cunning and craven Hollywood publicists, was to damage her reputation for the sake of advancing the career and the personal brand of her alleged harasser, co-star and director Justin Baldoni. In a statement to the New York Times, Lively valiantly said, “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.” Nearly seven years ago, Lively also voiced her support for women taking a stand against sexual predators in Hollywood during the rise of the #MeToo movement. But unlike now, Lively’s purported advocacy for women speaking up against sexual misconduct was met with skepticism and even backlash. That’s because Lively had chosen to publicly support one of the industry’s most famous alleged predators, Woody Allen. Among other things, Lively praised Allen for his “very empowering” direction after she co-starred in his 2016 film “Cafe Society.” During press interviews for the film, she also refused to address the sexual assault allegations made against him by his own daughter, Dylan Farrow. Indeed, one prominent person speaking out against Lively in late 2017 and early 2018 was Dylan Farrow, who originally accused the filmmaker of molesting her in 1992, when she was 7 years old. While Dylan Farrow praised women in the industry for “taking a stand” to effect change in Hollywood, she also said that Lively and other celebrity #MeToo advocates who had worked with her father were actually complicit “in the culture they are fighting against.” “The people who join this movement without taking any kind of personal accountability for the ways in which their own words and decisions have helped to perpetuate the culture they are fighting against, that’s hard for me to reconcile,” Dylan Farrow said in a statement to the media at the time. When Lively was initially cast in Allen’s “Cafe Society” in 2015, the former TV actor no doubt relished the chance to gain serious acting credibility by working with Allen, then still revered as one of world cinema’s best-loved auteurs. A year later, after “Cafe Society” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Lively gushed about joining an elite class of actresses who could be considered Allen “muses,” telling Hamptons magazine that it was “really cool to work with a director who’s done so much.” But it was during the 2016 Cannes Film Festival that public opinion began to turn against Allen, and Lively began to feel some heat. The change was led by Allen’s own son, journalist Ronan Farrow, whose later reporting on the alleged sex crimes of producer Harvey Weinstein helped spur the #MeToo movement. In a stunning May 2016 op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter, Farrow reminded movie fans — and A-list stars like Lively — that his father had allegedly “groomed” his sister with inappropriate touching as a young girl and sexually assaulted her when she was 7. The allegations against Allen first became public in the 1990s, amid his stormy break-up from longtime girlfriend Mia Farrow, Ronan and Dylan’s mother. As Allen vehemently denied the molestation allegations involving Dylan, his “PR engine revved into action,” Ronan Farrow explained in his op-ed. Similar to what Lively would say about Baldoni, Allen had savvy and aggressive publicists working on his behalf to spin a narrative to the public that was favorable to him and harmful to his alleged victim, according to Ronan Farrow. In Allen’s case, this narrative sought to enlist journalists and news outlets in discrediting his own daughter’s account of being molested, Ronan Farrow said. Also similar to Baldoni, Allen’s aim was to salvage his reputation and to continue his career as a filmmaker. Ronan Farrow described how this narrative held power for more than 20 years, largely because media outlets, fearful of Allen’s power in the industry, didn’t want to consider his sister’s side of the story. The journalist described his sister’s “agony in the wake of powerful voices sweeping aside her allegations” and “the press often willing to be taken along for the ride.” He said that it also hurt his sister to see A-list actors, some of whom were personal heroes, line up to star in his movies. The day after Ronan Farrow published his op-ed piece, Vulture asked Lively for a comment on being one of the actors who presumably hurt Dylan Farrow by lining up to star in her father’s movies. She demurred, saying she hadn’t read the piece. “I think that’s dangerous,” she said. “I don’t want to speak about something I haven’t read.” Lively also told the Los Angeles Times that any news coverage of Allen’s personal life didn’t register with her when she was making the movie. “I could (only) know my experience,” she said. “And my experience with Woody is he’s empowering to women.” Lively came to Allen’s defense in other ways by ripping into a Cannes official who made a joke about Dylan Farrow’s allegations before the “Cafe Society” screening, Variety reported. She said film festivals are meant to be “beautiful” events for the purpose of celebrating movies and artists, and they shouldn’t be tarnished by someone making jokes about “something (like sexual abuse) that wasn’t funny.” More than a year later, Ronan Farrow, writing for the New Yorker, joined New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor in publishing investigative stories that revealed Harvey Weinstein’s decades-long history of alleged sexual harassment and assault against scores of women. The Weinstein revelations quickly spurred many other women to come forward about sexual misconduct perpetrated by powerful men in media. As the #MeToo movement took off, Dylan Farrow gained a new platform to re-litigate her claims against her father in the court of public opinion. She wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, in which she called out Lively, Kate Winslet and Greta Gerwig for choosing to work with her father but then refusing to “answer questions about it.” Now in 2024, Lively has become a #MeToo-style hero by going public with her allegations against Baldoni. That status was helped by the fact that her claims were detailed by the New York Times report, in a report co-authored by Twohey, one of the reporters who originally broke the Weinstein story. As with Lively’s bombshell legal complaint filed in California, the Times story also focuses on the alleged efforts by Baldoni and his publicists to damage Lively’s reputation, in order to pre-empt her claims about his sexually inappropriate behavior on set. But over the years, Lively still has not addressed her support for Allen or her refusal to discuss Dylan Farrow’s allegations. Unlike Greta Gerwig and some other actors, she also has not voiced regret for choosing to work with Allen, even after Ronan Farrow presented evidence of his father’s P.R. efforts to discredit his own daughter. But given Lively’s recent, allegedly harrowing experience with Baldoni, maybe she’ll finally feel willing to speak up about whether she regrets working for Allen.
Mashburn scores 18 as Temple beats Buffalo 91-71
Beyond Paradise’s Martha learns important lesson in emotional fostering storyTrudeau, Carney push back over Trump’s ongoing 51st state commentsLegendary CBS sports broadcaster Greg Gumble has died, following a battle with cancer. He was 78 years old. Gumble's family issued a statement today announcing his passing: A statement from the family of Greg Gumbel pic.twitter.com/oAkSrW8EtJ More from The New York Post: Gumbel, who missed last year’s NCAA Tournament due to what The Athletic reported as “family health issues,” spent decades at CBS across two stints, returning to the network in 1998 to pair with Phil Simms and form the No. 1 broadcast team until 2003. Then, after hosting “The NFL Today” for two seasons, Gumbel returned to calling NFL games for CBS in 2006, a role he continued to hold through the end of the 2022 season. “The CBS Sports family is devastated by the passing of Greg Gumbel,” David Berson, president and CEO of CBS Sports, said in a statement released by the network. “There has never been a finer gentleman in all of television. He was beloved and respected by those of us who had the honor to call him a friend and colleague.” Gumble's broadcasting career spanned five decades. RIP Greg Gumbel. Over 50 years in sportscasting, he left behind a great legacy between MSG, NBC, and CBS. Two Olympics. Five Super Bowl broadcasts. March Madness. MLB Playoffs. NFL Today. Even Nascar. Brother. Husband. Father. Friend. pic.twitter.com/7t7kcSkn9S Awful news: Legendary NFL broadcaster Greg Gumbel has passed away. 💔 Greg was the host of College Basketball for many years and was the voice of the NFL on CBS. No one was classier and a true professional than Greg. Greg was only 78 years old. AN ICON. REST EASY 🕊️🕊️🕊️ pic.twitter.com/pYZkz3mtrM Legendary broadcaster Greg Gumbel has passed away at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer. Thank you for all the March Madness and other sports memories. You will be missed. pic.twitter.com/olhWrxpJrR He will be. I am so sad to learn, and share this news. I worked with Greg in 1981 at ESPN in Bristol. He was so nice, fun & talented...who would share & help everyone. https://t.co/5Kvw1zaEpp Others who worked with Greg remembered him fondly: Greg Gumble was so very kind to me during my time with CBS Sports and the years since. He LOVED his family, sports and live music. RIP. Cancer Sucks https://t.co/mt6ybwX7uy Yes, cancer does suck. Oh no!! I’m so sad to hear this. I had the pleasure of working with Greg at CBS Sports many years ago. He was as kind and gracious as could be. #RIP to a class act. 😢 #GregGumbel https://t.co/t0QgqszlFx Greg is survived by his wife Marcy, daughter Michelle, brother Bryant, and sisters Renee and Rhonda. Our condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.
Syria's de facto leader said Sunday it could take up to four years to hold elections in Syria, and that he plans to dissolve his Islamist group that led the country's insurgency at an anticipated national dialogue summit for the country. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group leading the new authority in Syria, made the remarks in an interview with Saudi television network Al-Arabiyya. It comes almost a month after a lightning insurgency led by HTS overthrew President Bashar Assad's decades-long rule, ending the country's uprising-turned civil war that started back in 2011. Al-Sharaa said it would take time to hold elections because of the need for Syria's different forces to hold political dialogue and rewrite the country's constitution following five decades of the Assad dynasty's dictatorial rule. Also, the war-torn country's battered infrastructure needs to be reconstructed, he said. “The chance we have today doesn’t come every 5 or 10 years,” said al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani. “We want the constitution to last for the longest time possible.” Al-Sharaa is Syria's de facto leader until March 1, when Syria's different factions are set to hold a political dialogue to determine the country's political future and establish a transitional government that brings the divided country together. There, he said, HTS will dissolve after years of being the country's most dominant rebel group that held a strategic enclave in the country's northwest. Earlier, an Israeli airstrike in the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday killed 11 people, according to a war monitor, as Syrian weapons and military infrastructure even after the ouster of Assad. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike targeted a weapons depot that belonged to Assad’s forces near the industrial town of Adra, northeast of the capital. The observatory said at least 11 people, mostly civilians, were killed. The Israeli military did not comment on the airstrike Sunday. Israel, which has launched hundreds of airstrikes over since the country's uprising turned-civil war broke out in 2011, rarely acknowledges them. It says its targets are Iran-backed groups that backed Assad. Unlike his criticism of key Assad ally Iran, al-Sharaa hoped to maintain “strategic relations” with Russia, whose air force played a critical role in keeping Assad in power for over a decade during the conflict. Moscow has a strategic airbase in Syria. The HTS leader also said negotiations are ongoing with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria, and hopes that their armed forces will integrate with the Syrian security agencies. The Kurdish-led group is Washington’s key ally in Syria, where it is heavily involved in targeting sleeper cells belonging to the extremist Islamic State group. Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been clashing with the SDF even after the insurgency, taking the key city of Manbij, as Ankara hopes to create a buffer zone near its border in northern Syria. The rebels attacked near the strategic northern border town of Kobani, while the SDF shared a video of a rocket attack that destroyed what it said was a radar system south of the city of Manbij. In other developments: — Syrian state-run media said a was found near the third largest city of Homs. SANA said civil defense workers were sent to to the site in al-Kabo, one of many suspected mass graves where tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have been buried during a brutal crackdown under Assad and his network of security agencies. — An Egyptian activist wanted by Cairo on charges of incitement to violence and terrorism, Abdulrahman al-Qardawi, was detained by Lebanese security forces after crossing the porous border from Syria, according to two judicial and one security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to to talk to the press. Al-Qardawi is an Egyptian activist residing in Turkey and an outspoken critic of Egypt's government. He had reportedly visited Syria to join celebrations after Assad's downfall. His late father, was a top and controversial Egyptian cleric revered by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. He had lived in exile in Qatar for decades. — Lebanese security forces apprehended an armed group in the northern city of Tripoli that kidnapped a group of 26 Syrians who were recently smuggled into Lebanon, two Lebanese security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information with the media. The Syrians included five women and seven children, and security officials are working to return them to Syria.Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A Pennsylvania mother came forward against a Commercial Township man who was arrested earlier this month for allegedly using the social media platform Snapchat to talk and share explicit content with several underage girls, the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office said Friday. Michael A. Romig, 29, was charged Monday with causing or permitting a child to engage in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of such an act or to be portrayed in a sexually suggestive manner, engaging in sexual conduct which would impair or debauch the morals of a child and luring. These charges are in addition to the Dec. 12 charges of possessing, viewing or having under his control less than 1,000 items depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of a child, causing or permitting a child to engage in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of such an act or to be portrayed in a sexually suggestive manner, and engaging in sexual conduct which would impair or debauch the morals of a child. Contractors continue to remove rides at former Gillian's Wonderland site in Ocean City Ocean City group has no shortage of ideas for area near Gillian's Wonderland 'Great Day Express' takes its maiden voyage to Big SNOW at American Dream Mall Body found in fridge in Belleplain State Forest 'He was one of a kind': Ex-Beach Haven lifeguard chief recalls officer killed in North Carolina shooting DEEM says financing ready to start Bader Field development in Atlantic City Long Beach Island fire damages multimillion-dollar bayfront home New Jersey 'homelessness czar' at work in Atlantic City, DCA says The heartbeat of Atlantic City: How Midtown is redefining its future Atlantic City police officer accused of assaulting, pointing gun at wife Lower Township man charged with possession of child porn 2 Wildwood men accused of sexually assaulting juveniles Who are The Press' 2024 High School Football All-Stars? Who are The Press' football Player, Team and Coach of the Year? Mays Landing's Level Up comic and video game shop to close after 18 years In October, police in Columbus, Ohio, told the Prosecutor's Office that someone in the county was soliciting and sharing child sex abuse material with a 10-year-old girl on social media, the county officials said in a Dec. 13 release. Investigators identified Romig as the suspect and determined he had used multiple Snapchat accounts to communicate with juveniles ages 10 to 15, the Prosecutor's Office said. Romig is alleged to have possessed 276 files of child sex abuse material, including 16 photos and 26 videos, and he allegedly told the juveniles how he wanted the pictures taken, the Prosecutor's Office said. On Dec. 19, Prosecutor's Office Det. Kyle Mecouch received contact from a woman in Galeton, Pennsylvania, who said her 15-year-old daughter had been in an online relationship with a person she had believed to be a teenager. On the day prior, the girl approached her mother and was upset she had lost contact with a "teenager" she had been talking to, police said. The teen admitted Romig's true identity — a 29-year-old man — and said she had been unable to contact him since Dec. 12, the day of his initial arrest. After learning of Romig's true identity, the mother searched his name on the internet and came across the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office's Dec. 13 news release about his arrest, police said. Romig is alleged to have randomly added the 15-year-old girl as a friend on Snapchat in December 2022, police said. He initially told the girl his name was "Jason" and that he was 17. Both began to talk daily on Snapchat and other online platforms. During that time, Romig is alleged to have sent nude photographs of himself and requested the victim send him sexually explicit photos and videos. Romig eventually told the victim his real age and name and convinced her to not tell her parents about him, police said. They continued to talk daily until Romig's arrest Dec. 12. After not being able to contact him, the victim told her parents, police said. Romig continues to be held in the Cumberland County jail. The state will move for pretrial detention following the latest charges, police said. Contact John Russo: 609-272-7184 jrusso@pressofac.com Twitter: @ACPress_Russo Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Digital producer Author twitter Author email {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
November Small-Cap Surge Could Carry Into December's Santa Rally, Historical Trends Suggest
Croc: Legend Of The Gobbos Has Been Delayed - Press Start AustraliaATLANTA (AP) — Dillon Mitchell had 14 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, and No. 18 Cincinnati beat Georgia Tech 81-58 on Saturday. Jizzle James and Cole Hickman also scored 14 points apiece for the Bearcats (5-0), who passed the first true test of the young season against their first major conference opponent in the Yellow Jackets of the ACC. Naithan George made three 3-pointers while scoring 13 points for Georgia Tech (2-3). Duncan Powell added 10 points, while leading scorer Baye Ndogo finished with just five points. Cincinnati: The Bearcats rode hot shooting to their decisive win, particularly from behind the arc. Cincinnati shot 41% (9 for 22) from 3-point range and 52% (32 for 62) overall. Georgia Tech: Despite four Yellow Jackets averaging in double-digit points this season, only George and Powell managed to break the 10-point mark. Georgia Tech shot just 36% (21 for 59) from the field and 55% (11 for 20) from the free-throw line. After surrendering the game’s opening basket, Cincinnati forced seven Georgia Tech turnovers in six minutes and reeled off a 14-2 run. Cincinnati's defense was stifling, holding down a Georgia Tech offense that had been averaging 82 points. The Bearcats had a strong day inside, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 44-28 in the paint. Cincinnati hosts Alabama State on Wednesday, and Georgia Tech continues its seven-game homestand against Charleston Southern, also on Wednesday.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Themus Fulks' 26 points helped Milwaukee defeat IU Indianapolis 88-81 on Sunday. Fulks also contributed five rebounds and five assists for the Panthers (10-4, 3-0 Horizon League). Kentrell Pullian scored 20 points while going 5 of 9 from the floor, including 4 for 7 from 3-point range, and 6 for 8 from the line. Erik Pratt shot 5 for 9, including 1 for 4 from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points. Sean Craig led the way for the Jaguars (5-10, 1-3) with 22 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Paul Zilinskas added 21 points and three steals for IU Indianapolis. Jarvis Walker finished with 12 points and four assists. Milwaukee's next game is Thursday against Oakland on the road. IU Indianapolis hosts Youngstown State on Wednesday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar . For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Data Skrive.Bluesky sees growing pains
South Korea’s parliament impeached Acting President Han Duck-soo, dealing another blow to a government already reeling after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s suspension less than two weeks ago for his brief martial law decree. Lawmakers voted 192-0 in favor of Prime Minister Han’s impeachment on Friday, according to National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik. He said before the vote that a simple majority in the 300-seat parliament was needed for the motion to pass, instead of the two-thirds required to suspend a president. The main opposition Democratic Party, which holds 170 seats, filed the motion to impeach Han on Thursday after he resisted pressure to immediately appoint three judges to the Constitutional Court, which would boost the likelihood of a ruling to finalize Yoon’s removal from power. Dozens of ruling party members protested by chanting slogans calling for Woo’s resignation and boycotting the vote. Han said in a statement that he would respect the National Assembly’s decision and suspend his duties. This is the first time an acting president has been impeached in South Korea. Han took over the role after Yoon was impeached by parliament following his Dec. 3 decision to impose martial law, a move that was reversed six hours later. The crisis has rattled financial markets and disrupted Seoul’s diplomacy efforts with partners like the U.S., all while the country’s facing mounting economic challenges and nuclear threats from North Korea. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who now steps in as interim leader, said he will work to minimize any confusion in government operations. He has also instructed the Joint Chiefs of Staff to increase monitoring of North Korea to prevent any provocations that might arise, he said in a statement. It would be nearly impossible for Choi to effectively manage all the roles including finance minister, acting president and acting prime minister simultaneously, according to Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University in Seoul. “This is not a normal situation in a country,” he said. The South Korean won declined 0.6 percent against U.S. dollar after the vote. The currency earlier fell as much as 1.1 percent to the lowest since 2009 on Friday. Han said in an emergency public address Thursday that he would hold off on approving the three judges nominated by parliament. He added that the right to approve the judges rests with the president of the nation. Choi didn’t indicate in his statement whether he would follow Han’s position on the appointment of judges. The Democratic Party has called on Choi to make the appointments immediately. Court process The court, which can still rule with six judges, held its first pre-trial hearing Friday and has until June to make a decision. Yoon has vowed to fight in court, saying he declared martial law to protect the nation from an opposition that’s trying to paralyze the government with impeachment motions and cuts to budget plans. The case against the president is more important and urgent than any other impeachment motion involving government officials, Constitutional Court judge Cheong Hyungsik said at the hearing on Friday, according to a pool report. The court has scheduled the next preliminary hearing for Jan. 3. The political turmoil adds to the risks facing South Korea’s economy, which is expected to grow at a slower pace next year. Export momentum is weakening due to lower semiconductor demand, and companies are bracing for Donald Trump’s return to the White House and his protectionist policies. Recent surveys show confidence among South Korean consumers and businesses has slumped the most since the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers have pledged “unlimited liquidity” if needed to reassure market participants and mitigate the economic fallout. The central bank said it would cut its benchmark interest rate next year while considering financial risks and economic conditions. Shin said the political uncertainty could spark an outflow of foreign capital. This would worsen the balance sheets of companies due to their large amounts of dollar-denominated debt, he added.
Thomas Frank unhappy with officials in game with BrightonPresident Javier Milei has confirmed that he will attempt to move forward with further pension and labor reforms in 2025, as well as seeking further privatizations of public companies. His comments came in an interview with Forbes published on Sunday. “We will keep removing regulations,” he said. “This year, we rose 70 places in economic freedom. We moved from being among the 35 worst to the middle.” The president did not specify which index he was referring to, although Argentina was ranked in the bottom 35 countries for which data was available in the Heritage Foundation’s most recent index of economic freedom. “We’ve only applied a quarter of the reforms,” he continued. “There are still 3,200 to go. We will remove them to the extent that Congress allows.” In 2025, he said, “we’re going to move forward with an agenda of privatizations and an expansion of labor reform. To the extent that the labor reform works out, we can advance with a pension reform.” In this respect, the president highlighted changes he had implemented through the Bases Law. He said that they would make it possible to expand Argentina’s labor market from 6.5 million people to 14.5 million people. This, he said, meant that “the pension system numbers will change dramatically in favor of retirees having better pensions.” Milei also reflected on the achievements of his first year in office. “We’re eliminating inflation, which means that the distortion in relative prices is being eliminated, and that favors the accumulation of capital. We’re cutting taxes. We’ve carried out 800 structural reforms. Every day we remove regulations,” he said. He is not done with the chainsaw, either. “We made a first major cut, and now we’re getting to the deeper stuff, which isn’t just deregulating and removing barriers, but it implies a new state reform, to make it even smaller.” An excerpt of the interview published on December 22 reported Milei’s comments that three conditions were necessary for him to lift Argentina’s capital controls: an independently floating exchange rate, resolving issues with the Central Bank’s stocks, and aligning the traditional and broad monetary bases. – C5N.com /Herald
EJ Farmer scores 16 as Youngstown State defeats Detroit Mercy 73-64China’s economy has demonstrated robust resilience over the past five years despite headwinds, with the latest national economic census pointing to significant strides in key areas including economic scale, structural optimization, and innovation-driven and digitally fueled development. Looking forward, officials and experts said China’s economy is on track for steady and sustainable growth in the long run, given its ultra-large domestic market, the advancement of industrial transformation and upgrading, a thriving digital economy and comprehensive deepening of reforms. The fifth national economic census showed on Thursday that China’s GDP for 2023 was revised up to 129.4 trillion yuan ($17.7 trillion), an increase of 3.4 trillion yuan compared with the earlier, preliminary calculation. Revising GDP data is a common practice worldwide, as GDP figures are not fixed after the initial calculation. Instead, they are continuously updated based on more complete and reliable data, as preliminary figures typically prioritize timeliness and rely on the availability of basic data, which may result in sacrificing some degree of completeness and detail. “China’s GDP reached nearly 130 trillion yuan in 2023, maintaining its position as the world’s second-largest economy,” said Kang Yi, head of the National Bureau of Statistics. “Over the past five years, China’s contribution to global economic growth has averaged around 30 percent, making it the largest driver of growth for the world economy.” Kang told a news conference held in Beijing on Thursday that compared with the results of the fourth national economic census, China’s economic development has shown significant positive changes in aspects such as overall scale, structural optimization, innovation-driven growth and green transformation, demonstrating strong resilience and tremendous potential. Data from the fifth national economic census showed that a total of 33.27 million legal entities were engaged in the secondary and tertiary industries as of the end of 2023, up 52.7 percent compared with the figures at the end of 2018. The role of technology in driving industrial upgrading has become more evident, with a noticeable acceleration in the application of new technologies and processes. The number of patent applications filed by industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 614,000 in 2023, up 65.1 percent compared with 2018. Enterprises above the designated size are those with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan. Meanwhile, the research and development expenditure of industrial enterprises above the designated size hit 2.1 trillion yuan, an increase of 61.9 percent from 2018. Notably, industries related to strategic emerging sectors saw robust growth, with 96,000 large industrial enterprises in these fields by the end of 2023, representing nearly one-fifth of the country’s major industrial companies. While dismissing some pessimistic views on the Chinese economy propagated by some Western media and scholars, experts said China still has the conditions and capabilities to strengthen economic momentum and foster steady and high-quality growth in the long term. Joe Ngai, chairman of management consultancy McKinsey China, reaffirmed his belief that “the next China is still China”, saying that there is no substitute for the Chinese market, whether as a market for products or in terms of demand. In fact, China’s economic structure has continued to improve in recent years. The added value of China’s tertiary industry, a term for the services sector of the economy, accounted for 56.3 percent of the country’s GDP in 2023, an increase of over 2 percentage points compared with 2018, NBS data showed. Meanwhile, the number of legal entities in the manufacturing sector reached more than 4 million by the end of 2023, a 23.8 percent increase from 2018, with total assets in the sector growing 41.7 percent to 151 trillion yuan. Zhang Ming, deputy director of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Finance and Banking, said that looking ahead, China’s annual GDP growth rate is likely to reach 4.7 percent to 5 percent in 2025 if the government takes expansionary moves in macroeconomic adjustments. Source: China DailyWarren Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.A 0.99% ) ( BRK.B 0.95% ) , which has delivered an annual return of 19.8% since Buffett took the helm in 1965. That could have turned an investment of $1,000 into more than $42 million. The same investment in the S&P 500 index would have grown to just $308,115 over the same period. Buffett's simple long-term investing strategy is the secret to Berkshire's success. He likes companies with steady growth, reliable profitability, strong management teams, and shareholder-friendly initiatives like dividends and stock buybacks. You will never see him and his team piling money into the latest stock market trends -- even one as powerful as artificial intelligence (AI). However, four stocks in Berkshire's $292 billion portfolio of publicly listed securities are deploying AI into their legacy businesses in unique ways. 1. Domino's Pizza: 0.2% of Berkshire's portfolio Domino's Pizza ( DPZ 1.68% ) is the world's largest pizza chain with over 21,000 stores in 90 countries, which serve more than 1 million customers every day. Berkshire just added this stock to its portfolio in the third quarter of 2024 (ended Sept. 30), which might be a great sign for the pizza giant considering the conglomerate was a net seller of stocks overall . Domino's puts technologies like AI at the center of its operations, because they drive efficiency, which lowers costs and boosts profits. Thanks to the predictive capabilities of AI, it can start making pizzas before a customer even finishes placing an order. That means each pizza is cooked sooner and reaches the customer faster than ever. The company also uses Microsoft 's Azure OpenAI platform for the computing infrastructure and software required to create powerful AI assistants for its website, which can help customers with their orders. Lastly, AI is going to streamline operations in each store by helping managers save time on day-to-day tasks like inventory management and employee scheduling. 2. Amazon: 0.7% of Berkshire's portfolio Amazon ( AMZN -0.64% ) is the world's largest e-commerce company, but most investors are more focused on its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud business, which is trying to dominate the three core layers of AI: Infrastructure : AWS builds data centers fitted with industry-leading AI chips from suppliers like Nvidia and has designed its own chips, called Trainium and Inferentia. With Trainium, developers can save an estimated 50% on AI training costs compared to using other chips, and Amazon says it's producing more of them than it expected because demand is so high. Large language models (LLMs) : Amazon developed its own family of LLMs called Titan, but the AWS Bedrock platform is also home to the world's leading third-party LLMs like Anthropic's Claude 3.5, and Meta Platforms ' Llama 3.2. Developers use these ready-made LLMs to accelerate the build-out of their AI chatbots and software applications. Software : AWS developed an AI virtual assistant called Q to answer questions about an organization's internal data, and it can be prompted to instantly generate computer code. Amazon says Q is the most powerful assistant in the world for software developers. During the recent third quarter of 2024, Amazon said AI revenue within AWS grew by a triple-digit percentage compared to a year ago, and it's growing more than three times faster than the cloud division did at the same stage of its evolution. Berkshire invested in Amazon stock in 2019, and Buffett has expressed regret for not identifying the opportunity sooner. Even though it represents only 0.7% of the conglomerate's portfolio, it could still deliver spectacular returns over the long run thanks to AI. 3. Coca-Cola: 8.4% of Berkshire's portfolio Berkshire acquired 400 million shares in Coca-Cola ( KO 0.25% ) between 1988 and 1994 at a cost of $1.3 billion. It still holds all of them, and they are now worth $24.7 billion! AI certainly wasn't on Buffett's mind when he decided to invest in the soda giant back then, but it's playing an increasingly important role in the business today. Last year, Coca-Cola appointed a chief of generative AI. So far, the company has used the technology to create marketing campaigns and make a promotional version of its flagship soda called Coca-Cola Y3000. It captures what the drink might taste like in the year 3000 by using AI to analyze high volumes of customer data. Back in April, Coca-Cola also struck a five-year $1.1 billion deal with Microsoft Azure to improve its supply chains, marketing, and productivity. 4. Apple: 23.1% of Berkshire's portfolio Apple ( AAPL 0.59% ) is Berkshire's largest holding. The stock used to account for almost 50% of the conglomerate's entire portfolio, but Buffett sold more than half of his position during the first three quarters of 2024. We don't exactly know why, but Buffett has mentioned at least part of the reason for selling was that he thinks the capital gains tax could rise in the future, so it's beneficial to take profits now. The timing is certainly interesting. On the one hand, the S&P 500 is expensive right now with a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 25.6, which is a 41% premium to its long-term average of 18.1. On the other hand, Apple is on the cusp of realizing an enormous opportunity within the AI space, which could fuel a significant device upgrade cycle over the next few years. The company recently started rolling out its Apple Intelligence software in the latest versions of its iPhone, iPad, and Mac computer lineup. It was developed in partnership with OpenAI. It allows users to summarize messages and emails with a single tap, and it can generate text and images. Plus, Apple's Siri voice assistant will now draw on the knowledge of OpenAI 's ChatGPT, which will make it more powerful than ever. Although Berkshire has been a heavy seller of Apple stock lately, Buffett expects it to remain the conglomerate's largest holding for now. Therefore, the investing legend is still likely to do very well if Apple's AI efforts pay off.
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