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bmy88 net casino The UN's marathon climate summit neared the finish line early Sunday, with nations due to approve or reject a hotly-disputed deal for wealthy historic emitters to provide at least $300 billion to poorer countries that had demanded much more. After an exhausting two weeks of negotiations in Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea capital of Baku, COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev declared open the final summit plenary after midnight, two days after the conference was officially scheduled to end. A final text was released following several sleepless nights for negotiators, with tensions boiling over as small islands states and the world's poorest countries walked out of one meeting. "This package is an affront to us. We are the countries that have the most at stake," said Tina Stege, climate envoy of the Marshall Islands, an atoll nation threatened by rising seas. Top German negotiator Jennifer Morgan told AFP that countries would be presented a "take it or leave it" deal. Before the closing session, delegates huddled in small groups on the floor of the main conference room inside Baku's sports stadium to pore over copies of the latest draft deal line by line. "I know that none of us want to leave Baku without a good outcome," Babayev said. A number of countries have accused Azerbaijan, an authoritarian oil and gas exporter, of lacking the experience and will to meet the moment, as the planet again sets temperature records and faces rising deadly disasters. Small island nations and impoverished African states on Saturday angrily stormed out of a meeting with Azerbaijan, saying their concerns had been ignored. "I think it caught a lot of people by surprise," said Brazil's climate envoy, Ana Toni. "It all happened very quickly." The walkout triggered an emergency meeting between those nations and top negotiators from the European Union, United States and Britain with the COP29 presidency in which new proposals were made. Wealthy countries and small island nations have also been concerned by efforts led by Saudi Arabia to water down calls from last year's summit to phase out fossil fuels. The final text proposes that rich nations raise to at least $300 billion a year by 2035 their commitment to poorer countries to fight climate change. It is up from $100 billion now provided by wealthy nations under a commitment set to expire -- and from $250 billion proposed in a draft Friday. That offer was slammed as offensively low by developing countries, which have demanded at least $500 billion to build resilience against climate change and cut emissions. Sierra Leone's climate minister Jiwoh Abdulai, whose country is among the world's poorest, called the draft "effectively a suicide pact for the rest of the world". Developing power Brazil pleaded for at least some progress and said it would seek to build on it when it leads COP30 next year in the Amazon gateway of Belem. "After the difficult experience that we're having here in Baku, we need to reach some outcome that is minimally acceptable in line with the emergency we're facing," Brazil's environment minister Marina Silva told delegates. As staff at the cavernous and windowless stadium began packing up, diplomats rushed between meetings, some armed with food and water in anticipation of another late night. Panama's outspoken negotiator, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, warned not to repeat the failure of COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009. "I'm sad, I'm tired, I'm disheartened, I'm hungry, I'm sleep-deprived, but there is a tiny ray of optimism within me because this cannot become a new Copenhagen," he told reporters. Climate activists shouted "shame" as US climate envoy John Podesta walked the halls. "Hopefully this is the storm before the calm," he said. Wealthy nations say it is politically unrealistic to expect more in direct government funding. Donald Trump, a sceptic of both climate change and foreign assistance, returns to the White House in January and a number of other Western countries have seen right-wing backlashes against the green agenda. The draft deal posits a larger overall target of $1.3 trillion per year to cope with rising temperatures and disasters, but most would come from private sources. South African Environment Minister Dion George, however, said: "I think being ambitious at this point is not going to be very useful." The United States and EU have wanted newly wealthy emerging economies like China -- the world's largest emitter -- to chip in. The final draft encouraged developing countries to make contributions on a voluntary basis, reflecting no change for China which already pays climate finance on its own terms. The EU and other countries have also tussled with Saudi Arabia over including strong language on moving away from fossil fuels, which negotiators say the oil-producing country has resisted. "We will not allow the most vulnerable, especially the small island states, to be ripped off by the new, few rich fossil fuel emitters," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. bur-np-sct-lth/jm

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Israeli hospital says Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgeryEAST LANSING, Mich. — The sight was a common one for Andrew Kolpacki. For many a Sunday, he would watch NFL games on TV and see quarterbacks putting their hands on their helmets, desperately trying to hear the play call from the sideline or booth as tens of thousands of fans screamed at the tops of their lungs. When the NCAA's playing rules oversight committee this past spring approved the use of coach-to-player helmet communications in games for the 2024 season, Kolpacki, Michigan State's head football equipment manager, knew the Spartans' QBs and linebackers were going to have a problem. "There had to be some sort of solution," he said. As it turns out, there was. And it was right across the street. Kolpacki reached out to Tamara Reid Bush, a mechanical engineering professor who not only heads the school's Biomechanical Design Research Laboratory but also is a football season ticket-holder. Kolpacki "showed me some photos and said that other teams had just put duct tape inside the (earhole), and he asked me, 'Do you think we can do anything better than duct tape,?" Bush said. "And I said, 'Oh, absolutely.'" Bush and Rylie DuBois, a sophomore biosystems engineering major and undergraduate research assistant at the lab, set out to produce earhole inserts made from polylactic acid, a bio-based plastic, using a 3D printer. Part of the challenge was accounting for the earhole sizes and shapes that vary depending on helmet style. Once the season got underway with a Friday night home game against Florida Atlantic on Aug. 30, the helmets of starting quarterback Aidan Chiles and linebacker Jordan Turner were outfitted with the inserts, which helped mitigate crowd noise. DuBois attended the game, sitting in the student section. "I felt such a strong sense of accomplishment and pride," DuBois said. "And I told all my friends around me about how I designed what they were wearing on the field." All told, Bush and DuBois have produced around 180 sets of the inserts, a number that grew in part due to the variety of helmet designs and colors that are available to be worn by Spartan players any given Saturday. Plus, the engineering folks have been fine-tuning their design throughout the season. Dozens of Bowl Subdivision programs are doing something similar. In many cases, they're getting 3D-printed earhole covers from XO Armor Technologies, which provides on-site, on-demand 3D printing of athletic wearables. The Auburn, Alabama-based company has donated its version of the earhole covers to the equipment managers of programs ranging from Georgia and Clemson to Boise State and Arizona State in the hope the schools would consider doing business with XO Armor in the future, said Jeff Klosterman, vice president of business development. XO Armor first was approached by the Houston Texans at the end of last season about creating something to assist quarterback C.J. Stroud in better hearing play calls delivered to his helmet during road games. XO Armor worked on a solution and had completed one when it received another inquiry: Ohio State, which had heard Michigan State was moving forward with helmet inserts, wondered if XO Armor had anything in the works. "We kind of just did this as a one-off favor to the Texans and honestly didn't forecast it becoming our viral moment in college football," Klosterman said. "We've now got about 60 teams across college football and the NFL wearing our sound-deadening earhole covers every weekend." The rules state that only one player for each team is permitted to be in communication with coaches while on the field. For the Spartans, it's typically Chiles on offense and Turner on defense. Turner prefers to have an insert in both earholes, but Chiles has asked that the insert be used in only one on his helmet. Chiles "likes to be able to feel like he has some sort of outward exposure," Kolpacki said. Exposure is something the sophomore signal-caller from Long Beach, California, had in away games against Michigan and Oregon this season. Michigan Stadium welcomed 110,000-plus fans for the Oct. 26 matchup between the in-state rivals. And while just under 60,000 packed Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, for the Ducks' 31-10 win over Michigan State three weeks earlier, it was plenty loud. "The Big Ten has some pretty impressive venues," Kolpacki said. "It can be just deafening," he said. "That's what those fans are there for is to create havoc and make it difficult for coaches to get a play call off." Something that is a bit easier to handle thanks to Bush and her team. She called the inserts a "win-win-win" for everyone. "It's exciting for me to work with athletics and the football team," she said. "I think it's really exciting for our students as well to take what they've learned and develop and design something and see it being used and executed." Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Aidan O'Connell threw two touchdown passes, Daniel Carlson kicked four field goals, Ameer Abdullah had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career and the visiting Las Vegas Raiders defeated the New Orleans Saints 25-10 on Sunday afternoon. Abdullah, playing in the 141st game of his 10-year career, finished with 115 yards on 20 carries. O'Connell completed 20 of 35 passes for 242 yards as the Raiders (4-12) won their second straight after a 10-game losing streak. Brock Bowers added seven receptions for 77 yards, giving him 1,144 receiving yards, which broke the NFL single-season record for a rookie tight end, set by Mike Ditka with 1,076 yards in 14 games in 1961. Rookie Spencer Rattler passed for 218 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and fell to 0-5 as the starter for the Saints (5-11). Las Vegas's first possession of the third quarter resulted in Carlson's 54-yard field goal, which increased its lead to 16-10 at the end of the period. Carlson's 25-yard field goal pushed the lead to 19-10 on the third play of the fourth quarter. O'Connell added an 18-yard touchdown pass to Tre Tucker to complete the scoring. The Raiders received the opening kickoff and held the ball for 17 plays before stalling. Carlson kicked a 31-yard field goal and the 3-0 lead held up through the end of the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, Rattler threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to former Raiders tight end Foster Moreau and the Saints took a 7-3 lead with their first points in the first half in three games. The ensuing possession ended with Carlson kicking a 39-yard field goal that trimmed the lead to 7-6. O'Connell threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers to give Las Vegas a 13-7 lead with 57 seconds left in the second quarter. Rattler completed 5 of 7 for 54 yards in driving New Orleans to Blake Grupe's 34-yard field goal as time expired that trimmed the lead to 13-10 at halftime. --Field Level Media

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Martez Robinson's 15 points helped Delaware State defeat Loyola 80-77 on Saturday. Robinson also had seven rebounds for the Hornets (4-6). Kaseem Watson scored 14 points and added five rebounds. Alston Andrews had 13 points and shot 5 of 9 from the field and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. Jordan Stiemke led the way for the Greyhounds (4-4) with 15 points and two steals. Loyola (MD) also got 14 points and eight rebounds from Milos Ilic. Braeden Speed also put up 13 points and four assists. Muneer Newton scored six points in the first half for Delaware State, who led 33-30 at halftime. Robinson's layup with 3:13 left in the second half gave Delaware State the lead for good at 71-70. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .ARLINGTON, Va. , Dec. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) approved an increase of 2% in the Company's quarterly common stock dividend, from $0.1725 per share to $0.17595 per share, beginning in the first quarter of 2025. The Company's first quarter 2025 common stock dividend of $0.17595 per share is payable on February 14, 2025 to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 31 , 2025. Additional information regarding dividends paid by AES, including tax treatment, can be found on www.aes.com by selecting "Investors" then "Stock Information" and then "Dividend History." About AES The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is a Fortune 500 global energy company accelerating the future of energy. Together with our many stakeholders, we're improving lives by delivering the greener, smarter energy solutions the world needs. Our diverse workforce is committed to continuous innovation and operational excellence, while partnering with our customers on their strategic energy transitions and continuing to meet their energy needs today. For more information, visit www.aes.com . Safe Harbor Disclosure This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those related to future earnings, growth and financial and operating performance. Forward-looking statements are not intended to be a guarantee of future results, but instead constitute AES' current expectations based on reasonable assumptions. Forecasted financial information is based on certain material assumptions. These assumptions include, but are not limited to, our expectations regarding accurate projections of future interest rates, commodity price and foreign currency pricing, continued normal levels of operating performance and electricity volume at our distribution companies and operational performance at our generation businesses consistent with historical levels, as well as the execution of PPAs, conversion of our backlog and growth investments at normalized investment levels, and rates of return consistent with prior experience. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in our forward-looking statements due to risks, uncertainties and other factors. Important factors that could affect actual results are discussed in AES' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including, but not limited to, the risks discussed under Item 1A: "Risk Factors" and Item 7: "Management's Discussion & Analysis" in AES' 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in subsequent reports filed with the SEC. Readers are encouraged to read AES' filings to learn more about the risk factors associated with AES' business. AES undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except where required by law. Any Stockholder who desires a copy of the Company's 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed February 26, 2024 with the SEC may obtain a copy (excluding the exhibits thereto) without charge by addressing a request to the Office of the Corporate Secretary, The AES Corporation, 4300 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22203. Exhibits also may be requested, but a charge equal to the reproduction cost thereof will be made. A copy of the Annual Report on Form 10-K may be obtained by visiting the Company's website at www.aes.com . Website Disclosure AES uses its website, including its quarterly updates, as channels of distribution of Company information. The information AES posts through these channels may be deemed material. Accordingly, investors should monitor our website, in addition to following AES' press releases, quarterly SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. In addition, you may automatically receive e-mail alerts and other information about AES when you enroll your e-mail address by visiting the " Subscribe to Alerts " page of AES' Investors website. The contents of AES' website, including its quarterly updates, are not, however, incorporated by reference into this release. Investor Contact: Susan Harcourt 703-682-1204, susan.harcourt@aes.com Media Contact: Amy Ackerman 703-682-6399, amy.ackerman@aes.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aes-announces-2-increase-in-quarterly-dividend-302325157.html SOURCE The AES Corporation Stay Informed: Subscribe to Our Newsletter Today

CHICAGO — Anders Sorensen got his desired response from his first practice as the Chicago Blackhawks’ interim coach. “He brings a good level (of) intensity for us, especially the first practice today was pretty high-paced, a lot of energy out there,” Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic said afterward. “I think it’s a good start for him.” Advertisement Forward Joey Anderson said, “(His message to us) was get the compete going and have fun doing it. It’s going to suck. It’s not easy, but enjoy that and being on each other, just find that fun in winning. He goes, winning is fun and find that fun in the compete and the battle and the way we prepare and the way we address things. I think today was a good day out there. Guys were up-tempo and guys were positive. You got to keep moving forward.” Sorensen will only have Friday’s practice before the Blackhawks play their next game, a Saturday afternoon matchup with the Winnipeg Jets . He doesn’t have a lot of time to alter systems and do much of anything to alter how Luke Richardson was approaching things as coach. There are some changes Sorensen can make quickly and others that will need more time. Here’s a look at five areas Sorensen could focus on to improve the Blackhawks: 1. Jump-starting Connor Bedard has to be the priority. There are a lot of different ways to go with that. For one, Sorensen needs to restore Bedard’s confidence and aggressiveness with the puck. Bedard’s recent goalless streak seemed to mess with his head, and that’s led to fewer chances overall. He’s had two or fewer shots on goal in 10 of his last 12 games. That happened just four times in his first 14 games this season. Going beyond even the number of shots, you could look at the type of shots and where the shots are coming from. He’s not getting many one-timers, which probably has to become a strength of his in the NHL . He’s also shooting more from the right side this season as opposed to where he had more success on the left side last season. From Chris Watkins’ research , Bedard took 41 percent of shots on goal from the left side last season, had a 19 percent shooting percentage and scored 66 percent of five-on-five goals from there. On the right side, he took 59 percent of his shots on net last season and just had a seven percent conversion rate. Now this season, he’s had 77 percent of his shots on goal from the right side and just 23 percent from the left. All of that might explain why Bedard has just three goals in five-on-five play through 26 games. Advertisement Bedard is also carrying the puck less into the offensive zone. Based on Corey Sznajder’s tracking data , Bedard has only averaged three entries per game since November. There were times early in the season when that number was close to 10 per game. Here’s a look at all of Bedard’s tracking data from Sznajder: Neither Sorensen nor Bedard went into much detail about how they’ll go about improving Bedard’s game, but Sorensen did mention something interesting about getting Bedard the puck in motion. “We talked briefly on the ice and we’re going to try to get together here,” Sorensen said. “I’m curious to hear his thoughts a little bit. He’s one of those guys we have to get him up the ice and get skating. That’s when he’s at his best. We all see what he can do when the puck’s on his stick. We have to get a way for him to get the puck in motion. That’s the biggest thing right now.” That may be Sorensen recognizing it could be easier to get Bedard going off the rush than off forechecking and the cycle. He can create chances off his entries. If Sorensen can unlock that again and get some players up the ice with him, that could start pushing Bedard in a positive direction again. 2. One of Richardson’s tactical achievements this season was making the Blackhawks less susceptible to odd-man rushes. He was able to do that by making his defensemen more preventive than aggressive. While that did have a positive defensive effect, it also had a negative offensive effect. The Blackhawks defensemen have been less involved in the cycle offense. There isn’t a five-man attack going on with the Blackhawks. Their cycle/forecheck offense wasn’t great last season, and it’s been even worse this season. To improve that, Sorensen needs his defensemen to be more engaged in the offensive zone and less worried about getting back to defend. Because Bedard likes to play up so high in the offensive zone, there could be space for those defenders to step into and get more involved in the offense. They’re mostly attached to the wall or the blue line, though. Advertisement “I think a lot of times that’s a mentality, so we want to encourage our D to be up in the rush and we did some stuff like that in practice today,” Sorensen said. “We need to get skating here. We have a team that can move and we have some guys that can really fly out there, so try to play to their strength. Just encouraging guys to be up the ice more and defend on the front of our foot with our forecheck and be up versus waiting.” 3. How the Blackhawks get into the offensive zone could also matter to sparking some offense. Under Richardson, the Blackhawks have largely been dumping and chasing. They have a low carry-in entry percentage. Although some teams might be able to get away with that, the Blackhawks’ forecheck pressure isn’t strong enough, especially if the defense isn’t supporting it. The Blackhawks have some players who can carry the puck into the zone with success. They need the puck on those sticks. Bedard is one. Taylor Hall is another. Lukas Reichel does it well. But on top of that, they need the other players to be more supportive. It can’t just be one good puck carrier on each line and praying that works. Playing faster might also help. While the Blackhawks have improved at breaking out from the defensive zone, they struggle when they’re forced to reset and regroup because they don’t have a ton of players who can create those clean entries. If players like Bedard, Hall and Reichel are the ones who are best at carrying the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone, Sorensen can try to have players like Philipp Kurashev , Teuvo Teräväinen , Tyler Bertuzzi and others get up ice sooner and give those puck carriers easier routes whether through bump passes or just helping back off the defense earlier. My takeaway from the Hawks is they've made some incremental improvements, but they can only create off the rush & their team structure is focused around dump-and-chase. Their defense has gotten better at breaking the puck out but there's a stop sign at the red line. pic.twitter.com/0LEhxMN3Ll — Corey Sznajder (@ShutdownLine) December 6, 2024 4. Linemaets and defense pairings do matter. It helps when players can complement and understand each other’s games. Sorensen didn’t promise he’d never change lines, but he shared some of his philosophy. “Chemistry is a big part of it,” Sorensen said. “We want to try to be patient with some of the guys, but there has to be an accountability, too. If you’re not playing the way we want you to play or not putting the effort in, there are times you’ll have to change the lines because of that. The other thing, we have some lines that are working, too, so we want to keep those guys together. Sometimes when you take a guy off a line that’s working to help somebody else out, that messes everybody up. We’re trying to build some continuity in that area, for sure, but we’ll see how it goes.” Advertisement Sorensen went with Kurashev and Teräväinen on the top line during Friday’s practice. The second line was Bertuzzi, Ryan Donato and Taylor Hall. The third line was Foligno, Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev . The fourth line continued to be Pat Maroon , Reichel and Craig Smith . We’ll see how much more confidence Sorensen has in Reichel than Richardson. There is a lot of familiarity between Sorensen and Reichel from the IceHogs. “We had a lot of meetings and watched a lot of shifts of my game,” Reichel said. “He helped me a lot, especially away from the puck. He helped me a lot. He’s one reason why I’m with the Blackhawks now.” With that top line, Sorensen obviously needs Kurashev to be more of an offensive threat. He hasn’t nearly been the player he was last season. Of the 350 forwards who have played a minimum of 200 minutes in five-on-five play this season, Kurashev is 329th at 0.61 points per 60 minutes. Teräväinen fared well early with Bedard, but hasn’t played with him as much lately. 5. How the Blackhawks defend in the defensive zone might also be an area where Sorensen can look to get more offense. Under Richardson, the Blackhawks liked to stay very compact and around the net in the defensive zone. It’s another reason why the defensive metrics have improved. The Blackhawks will want to be careful not to eliminate some of their strengths this season, but it might be something to tinker with. If Sorensen can loosen up that defense and try to create more counterattacks and rush chances, the Blackhawks could be a bit more dangerous offensively. Sorensen will have to figure out that line between getting more offense and not giving a ton more. The Blackhawks have been in nearly every game this season. The defense can be credited largely for that. On the other hand, they haven’t won a lot of those games. For that, the lack of offense is at fault. It’ll be interesting to see what changes Sorensen makes in his first game on Saturday. (Photo: Scott Powers / The Athletic )FAIR LAWN, N.J., Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Columbia Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLBK) (the “Company”), the mid-tier holding company for Columbia Bank (the “Bank”), announced today that Matthew Smith has been appointed as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company and the Bank effective as of November 25, 2024. The Company previously disclosed the retirement of E. Thomas Allen, Jr., the current Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company and the Bank, effective as of January 31, 2025. Mr. Smith served as the Chief Digital Banking Officer and Head of Enterprise Product, Marketing and Transformation at Webster Bank from February 2022 until November 2024. Prior to that time, Mr. Smith served as Head of Digital Banking and Banking as a Service at Sterling National Bank from January 2020 to February 2022 (when Sterling National Bank was acquired by Webster Bank) and Chief Product and Marketing Strategy Officer of Sterling National Bank from October 2017 to January 2020. Thomas J. Kemly, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and the Bank, said on the appointment: “Matthew has a proven track record of driving innovation and growth in banking operations, and we are pleased to welcome him to the Company and the Bank. We look forward to working with Matthew as part of our executive leadership team in an effort to continue to provide quality and convenient products and services to our customers.” Mr. Kemly continued, “We also extend our deepest appreciation to Tom Allen for his three decades of dedicated service to the Bank. Tom’s expertise and commitment have been instrumental in the continued success of the Company and the Bank and we wish him all the best on his well-deserved retirement.” About Columbia Financial, Inc. Columbia Financial, Inc. is a Delaware corporation organized as Columbia Bank's mid-tier stock holding company. Columbia Financial, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of Columbia Bank, MHC. Columbia Bank is a federally chartered savings bank headquartered in Fair Lawn, New Jersey that operates 68 full-service banking offices and offers traditional financial services to consumers and businesses in its market area. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements herein constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be identified by words such as “believes,” “will,” “would,” “expects,” “projects,” “may,” “could,” “developments,” “strategic,” “launching,” “opportunities,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “targets” and similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors. Factors that could cause such differences to exist include, but are not limited to, adverse conditions in the capital and debt markets and the impact of such conditions on the Company’s business activities; changes in interest rates, higher inflation and their impact on national and local economic conditions; changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and other governmental entities; the impact of legal, judicial and regulatory proceedings or investigations, competitive pressures from other financial institutions; the effects of general economic conditions on a national basis or in the local markets in which the Company operates, including changes that adversely affect a borrowers’ ability to service and repay the Company’s loans; the effect of acts of terrorism, war or pandemics,, including on our credit quality and business operations, as well as its impact on general economic and financial market conditions; changes in the value of securities in the Company’s portfolio; changes in loan default and charge-off rates; fluctuations in real estate values; the adequacy of loan loss reserves; decreases in deposit levels necessitating increased borrowing to fund loans and securities; legislative changes and changes in government regulation; changes in accounting standards and practices; the risk that goodwill and intangibles recorded in the Company’s consolidated financial statements will become impaired; cyber-attacks, computer viruses and other technological risks that may breach the security of our systems and allow unauthorized access to confidential information; the inability of third party service providers to perform; demand for loans in the Company’s market area; the Company’s ability to attract and maintain deposits and effectively manage liquidity; risks related to the implementation of acquisitions, dispositions, and restructurings; the risk that the Company may not be successful in the implementation of its business strategy, or its integration of acquired financial institutions and businesses, and changes in assumptions used in making such forward-looking statements which are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, those set forth in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and those set forth in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, all as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which are available at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks materialize or should underlying beliefs or assumptions prove incorrect, the Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, future events or other changes, except as required by law. Columbia Financial, Inc. Investor Relations Department (833) 550-0717

Saturday “A Holly Jolly Christmas” with Holly Tucker, 7 p.m. Waco Hippodrome Theatre, 724 Austin Ave. Tickets are $30 and $20, available online at wacohippodrometheatre.thundertix.com . Sunday “A Baylor Christmas” concerts, 3 p.m. Waco Hall on Baylor University campus. Blue Christmas services, offering a warm and welcoming place for those who are struggling, 5 p.m., Central United Methodist Church , 5740 Bagby Ave. Christmas musical service, 4 p.m., Toliver Chapel Baptist Church , 1402 Elm Ave. Call: 254-981-6170 Monday Caroling at the Carillon with Lynnette Geary, 5-6 p.m. McLane Carillon, Pat Neff Hall at Baylor University. Free to listen. Baylor Campus Orchestra, 7:30-9 p.m. Jones Concert Hall, Baylor’s McCrary Music Building. Free admission. Holiday concert by Youth Chorus of Central Texas, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 9, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 305 N. 30th St. “Gloria!” holiday concert (works by John Rutter, Randol Alan Bass), Central Texas Choral Society, 7:30 p.m., Woodway First United Methodist Church, 21000 Woodway Drive; $10 online or at the door. Tuesday Baylor Bronze Handbell Ensemble concert, 5:30-7 p.m., Roxy Grove Hall (inside Waco Hall) at Baylor University; free. Baylor Chamber Singers Christmas concert, 7:30-9 p.m. Dec. 10 and 12, Jones Concert Hall , Baylor’s McCrary Music Building; tickets on sale Nov. 4. Wednesday “He Rules The World” Nativity concert, 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Dec. 14, Waco Hippodrome Theatre, 724 Austin Ave.; $35-$15, online at wacohippodrometheatre.thundertix.com . Student carillon recital, TBA, McLane Carillon, Pat Neff Hall at Baylor University. Free to listen. Thursday Christmas concert by Dallas String Quartet, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12, Palace Theatre , 112 W. Sixth Ave., Corsicana; $45-$55, online at corsicanapalace.com . Upcoming Drive-thru Nativity, 6:30 to 8 p.m. nightly, Dec. 14-15, Columbus Avenue Baptist Church . Christmas Story narration available in English, Spanish, Chinese and ASL. Plus Christmas market. Visit cabcwaco.org/nativity for links to the narrations, FAQs and more information. Carillon recital by Lynnette Geary for Christmas and December graduates, 5-6 p.m. Dec. 18, McLane Carillon, Pat Neff Hall at Baylor University. Christmas concert by David Phelps, “It Must Be Christmas,” 7-11 p.m. Dec. 19, Midway ISD Performing Arts Center , 800 N. Hewitt Drive. Tickets $25-$75, available online at davidphelps.com . Doors open at 6 p.m. Blue Christmas services, offering a warm and welcoming place for those who are struggling, 3 p.m., Dec.. 22, China Spring United Methodist Church , 12301 Yankie Rd. Christmas festival, 6 p.m., Dec. 22, Bridge Church , 3109 Harrison St., Bellmead. Author Terry York (“Kurt Kaiser: Icon and Conscience of Contemporary Christian Music”) discussion with Bob Darden, discussion with Bob Darden, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Feb. 4, Moody Memorial Library (Schumacher Flex Commons) on Baylor University campus. Free. This event is part of Baylor’s Readers Meet the Author series. York and Darden are retired BU professors of church music and journalism, respectively. More information at provost.web.baylor.edu/rma . Author Elise Edwards (“Architecture, Theology, and Ethics: Making Architectural Design More Just”) discussion with Ann Theriot, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 4, Moody Memorial Library (Schumacher Flex Commons) on Baylor University campus. Free. This event is part of Baylor’s Readers Meet the Author series. Edwards and Theriot are BU assistant professors of religion and interior design, respectively. More information at provost.web.baylor.edu/rma . Author David Bridge (“Pushback: The Political Fallout of Unpopular Supreme Court Decisions”) discussion with Jeremy Counseller, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 25, Moody Memorial Library (Schumacher Flex Commons) on Baylor University campus. Free. This event is part of Baylor’s Readers Meet the Author series. Bridge is a BU associate professor of political science and Counseller is the dean of Baylor Law School. More information at provost.web.baylor.edu/rma . Author David Bridge (“Pushback: The Political Fallout of Unpopular Supreme Court Decisions”) discussion with Jeremy Counseller, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 25, Moody Memorial Library (Schumacher Flex Commons) on Baylor University campus. Free. This event is part of Baylor’s Readers Meet the Author series. Bridge is a BU associate professor of political science and Counseller is the dean of Baylor Law School. More information at provost.web.baylor.edu/rma . Items for Church Calendar must be submitted by noon Wednesday. Publication is not guaranteed. Items may be submitted online at www.wacotrib.com/goingson ; mailed to Church Calendar, Waco Tribune-Herald, P.O. Box 2588, Waco 76702-2588; or emailed to goingson@wacotrib.com . Be the first to know

Jones alleges fraud and collusion marred the bankruptcy auction in which The Onion was named the winning bidder on November 14 over a company affiliated with him. US bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez had been scheduled to hear an emergency motion to disqualify The Onion’s bid, but decided to put it off until either December 9 or December 17. That is also when the judge will hear arguments on a request to approve the sale of Infowars to The Onion. Mr Lopez said similar arguments are being made in both requests. He could allow The Onion to move forward with the sale, order a new auction or name the other bidder as the winner. At stake is whether Mr Jones gets to stay at Infowars’ studio in Austin, Texas, under a new owner friendly to him, or whether he gets kicked out by The Onion. The other bidder, First United American Companies, runs a website in Mr Jones’s name that sells nutritional supplements. Regardless, Mr Jones has set up a new studio, websites and social media accounts that would allow him to keep airing his show. His personal account with 3.3 million followers on the social platform X was not part of the sale, although Mr Lopez will be deciding whether it should be included in the liquidation and sold off later. In a new court filing on Monday, lawyers for X objected to any sale of the accounts of both Mr Jones and Infowars, saying X is the owner of the accounts and that it has not given consent for them to be sold or transferred. Mr Jones has praised X owner Elon Musk on his show and suggested that Mr Musk should buy Infowars. Mr Musk has not responded publicly to that suggestion and was not among the bidders. Mr Jones’ bankruptcy and the liquidation of his assets came about after he was ordered to pay nearly 1.5 billion dollars (£1.19 billion) to relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Mr Jones was found liable for defamation and emotional distress damages in lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas for repeatedly calling the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators a hoax staged by actors to increase gun control. Proceeds from the liquidation are to go to Mr Jones’s creditors, including the Sandy Hook families who sued him. Mr Jones alleged The Onion’s bid was the result of fraud and collusion involving many of those families, the humour site and a court-appointed trustee who is overseeing the liquidation. First United American Companies submitted a 3.5 million dollar (£2.7 million) sealed bid, while The Onion offered 1.75 million dollars (£1.3 million) in cash. But The Onion’s bid also included a pledge by Sandy Hook families to forego some or all of the auction proceeds due to them giving other creditors a total of 100,000 dollars (£79,400) more than they would receive under other bids. The trustee, Christopher Murray, said that made The Onion’s proposal better for creditors and he named it the winning bid. He has denied any wrongdoing. Mr Jones and First United American Companies claimed that the bid violated Mr Lopez’s rules for the auction by including multiple entities and lacking a valid dollar amount. Mr Jones also alleged Mr Murray improperly cancelled an expected round of live bidding and only selected among the sealed bids that were submitted. Mr Jones called the auction “rigged” and a “fraud” on his show, which airs on the Infowars website, radio stations and his X account. In a court filing, Mr Murray called the allegations “a disappointed bidder’s improper attempt to influence an otherwise fair and open auction process”. Mr Lopez’s September order on the auction procedures made a live bidding round optional. It gave broad authority to Mr Murray to conduct the sale, including the power to reject any bid, no matter how high, that was “contrary to the best interests” of Mr Jones, his company and their creditors. Hi friends! I wanted to give a quick update on The Onion’s purchase of InfoWars, which we can’t wait to relaunch as the dumbest site on the internet. Long and short of it: We won the bid and — you're not going to believe it — the previous InfoWars folks aren't taking it well. — follow @bencollins on bluesky (@oneunderscore__) But at a November 14 hearing, Mr Lopez said he was concerned about the process and transparency. “We’re all going to an evidentiary hearing and I’m going to figure out exactly what happened,” he said. “No one should feel comfortable with the results of this auction.” The assets of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, that were up for sale included the Austin studio, Infowars’ video archive, video production equipment, product trademarks, and Infowars’ websites and social media accounts. Mr Jones is appealing the 1.5 billion dollar (£1.19 billion) in judgments citing free speech rights but has acknowledged that the school shooting happened. Mr Jones has brought in millions of dollars a year in revenue by hawking nutritional supplements, clothing, survival gear and other merchandise from his Infowars Store website, according to court documents. Many of Mr Jones’ personal assets, including real estate as well as guns and other personal belongings, also are being sold as part of the bankruptcy.

Rivalry Closes Third Tranche Of Non-Brokered Private PlacementLess than two months into power, the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) government is facing one of its first big tests amid growing resentment within the general category population over the Jammu and Kashmir reservation policy that increased reservation in seats for jobs, NEET and post graduate (PG) courses. Notably, three petitions have been moved in the Jammu and Kashmir high court challenging the policy brought into force by the lieutenant governor-led administration earlier in the year. The open merit pool, which was around 60% prior to abrogation of Article 370, was squeezed to below 40%. The court while hearing one of the petitions has observed that once the decision comes, it will be applicable on both jobs and seats. Last week, political science professor Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, also the statehood petitioner in Supreme Court, approached the HC against the amendment., saying the 2024 amendment reduced the share of general category to 30% despite there share of over 70% in the UT population. “This violates my right to recruitment, promotion and admission to education Institutions. This will also result absorption of inefficient people in health education, judiciary and other departments contrary to meritorious which affect the right to qualify health care, quality education and quality service of coming generation.” Former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu later filed another petition over the “disparity” with the general category population. Political leaders, led by the likes of former chief minister (CM) Mehbooba Mufti, have also mounted pressure on the government to arrive at a solution. It is in this backdrop that the National Conference is walking a tightrope on the issue despite having promised a relook at the policy in its assembly election manifesto. The party’s chief spokesman and legislator Tanvir Sadiq did not respond to the query about the party’s present stand on the issue. The Omar Abdullah-led Jammu and Kashmir government did order the formation of a cabinet subcommittee to look into the new policy on November 22 amid the widespread demands to scrap it, with the CM himself acknowledging the resentment. “For the first time, political parties have started talking about the issue and even the fresh reservations have been challenged in court. It will become a big issue for the NC government in the coming days and it remains to be seen how Omar tackles it without annoying communities who have benefited from the new reservation policy,” said Ishfaq Ahmad, a political analyst. The government’s approach, meanwhile, has resulted in growing resentment among the youth. Recently, when PG seats were announced for one of the UT’s medical institutes, just 30% were available for general open merit candidates. A group of students have planned to hold a protest in New Delhi on December 14 to draw attention of top political leaders. Some student leaders have already met leaders in a bid to garner support for their protest. The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) national convenor Nasir Khuehami, said a caste census is essential to address the long-standing inequalities in Jammu and Kashmir’s reservation framework, adding, “We are not against reservation but demand fairness and balance. The youth of Jammu and Kashmir deserve a system that recognizes their aspirations and provides opportunities based on both equity and merit.” Khuehami advocated for a fair and balanced reservation policy, saying, “Rooted in accurate data, it will not only uplift marginalized communities but also ensure justice and trust.” Criticism has also come from within the party, with NC’s Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi last month threatening a sit-in protest outside the CM’s house. “...I have neither forgotten nor backtracked on the issue of rationalisation of reservation... I have talked with HCM twice [and] am told that there is some confusion about the distribution of the rules of business on many issues between the elected government and the other undemocratically imposed office and this subject is one among them. I am assured that the government will take a decision to rationalise the policy soon,” Mehdi had written on ‘X’ when asked to clarify his position on the issue by students and aggrieved persons about the party’s poll promises. Peoples Democratic Party has also been vocal about the issue, with youth leader and MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, and party president Mehbooba Mufti leading the charge. Mufti had demanded the implementation of statutory order of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, under which 75% seats are meant for open category candidates in higher medical courses especially in PG courses.