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The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time. Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in nine languages , from English to Japanese. On any other night, NORAD is scanning the heavens for potential threats , such as last year’s Chinese spy balloon . But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs are fielding questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?” “There are screams and giggles and laughter,” said Bob Sommers, 63, a civilian contractor and NORAD volunteer. Sommers often says on the call that everyone must be asleep before Santa arrives, prompting parents to say, “Do you hear what he said? We got to go to bed early.” NORAD’s annual tracking of Santa has endured since the Cold War , predating ugly sweater parties and Mariah Carey classics . Here’s how it began and why the phones keep ringing. The origin story is Hollywood-esque It started with a child’s accidental phone call in 1955. The Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears advertisement that encouraged children to call Santa, listing a phone number. A boy called. But he reached the Continental Air Defense Command, now NORAD, a joint U.S. and Canadian effort to spot potential enemy attacks. Tensions were growing with the Soviet Union, along with anxieties about nuclear war. Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that began to recite a Christmas wish list. “He went on a little bit, and he takes a breath, then says, ‘Hey, you’re not Santa,’” Shoup told The Associated Press in 1999. Realizing an explanation would be lost on the youngster, Shoup summoned a deep, jolly voice and replied, “Ho, ho, ho! Yes, I am Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?” Shoup said he learned from the boy’s mother that Sears mistakenly printed the top-secret number. He hung up, but the phone soon rang again with a young girl reciting her Christmas list. Fifty calls a day followed, he said. In the pre-digital age, the agency used a 60-by-80 foot (18-by-24 meter) plexiglass map of North America to track unidentified objects. A staff member jokingly drew Santa and his sleigh over the North Pole. The tradition was born. “Note to the kiddies,” began an AP story from Colorado Springs on Dec. 23, 1955. “Santa Claus Friday was assured safe passage into the United States by the Continental Air Defense Command.” In a likely reference to the Soviets, the article noted that Santa was guarded against possible attack from “those who do not believe in Christmas.” Is the origin story humbug? Some grinchy journalists have nitpicked Shoup’s story, questioning whether a misprint or a misdial prompted the boy’s call. In 2014, tech news site Gizmodo cited an International News Service story from Dec. 1, 1955, about a child’s call to Shoup. Published in the Pasadena Independent, the article said the child reversed two digits in the Sears number. “When a childish voice asked COC commander Col. Harry Shoup, if there was a Santa Claus at the North Pole, he answered much more roughly than he should — considering the season: ‘There may be a guy called Santa Claus at the North Pole, but he’s not the one I worry about coming from that direction,’” Shoup said in the brief piece. In 2015, The Atlantic magazine doubted the flood of calls to the secret line, while noting that Shoup had a flair for public relations. Phone calls aside, Shoup was indeed media savvy. In 1986, he told the Scripps Howard News Service that he recognized an opportunity when a staff member drew Santa on the glass map in 1955. A lieutenant colonel promised to have it erased. But Shoup said, “You leave it right there,” and summoned public affairs. Shoup wanted to boost morale for the troops and public alike. “Why, it made the military look good — like we’re not all a bunch of snobs who don’t care about Santa Claus,” he said. Shoup died in 2009. His children told the StoryCorps podcast in 2014 that it was a misprinted Sears ad that prompted the phone calls. “And later in life he got letters from all over the world,” said Terri Van Keuren, a daughter. “People saying ‘Thank you, Colonel, for having, you know, this sense of humor.’” A rare addition to Santa’s story NORAD’s tradition is one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa story that have endured, according to Gerry Bowler, a Canadian historian who spoke to the AP in 2010. Ad campaigns or movies try to “kidnap” Santa for commercial purposes, said Bowler, who wrote “Santa Claus: A Biography.” NORAD, by contrast, takes an essential element of Santa’s story and views it through a technological lens. In a recent interview with the AP, Air Force Lt. Gen. Case Cunningham explained that NORAD radars in Alaska and Canada — known as the northern warning system — are the first to detect Santa. He leaves the North Pole and typically heads for the international dateline in the Pacific Ocean. From there he moves west, following the night. “That’s when the satellite systems we use to track and identify targets of interest every single day start to kick in,” Cunningham said. “A probably little-known fact is that Rudolph’s nose that glows red emanates a lot of heat. And so those satellites track (Santa) through that heat source.” NORAD has an app and website, www.noradsanta.org , that will track Santa on Christmas Eve from 4 a.m. to midnight, Mountain Standard Time. People can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators about Santa’s location from 6 a.m. to midnight, mountain time.Elon Musk and his US$2 trillion fiscal fantasyxbet casino 。

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Port Moody council has been able to significantly whittle down its proposed property tax increase, approving a 5.71 percent bump for its provisional 2025 budget. The interim figure was discussed at a finance committee meeting on Dec. 17, with council managing to slash around seven percent since budget deliberations began in October. Mayor Meghan Lahti said this year’s budget came with challenges she’s never experienced in her 25 years in office, noting the consumer price index has risen nearly 14 percent since council took office. “That is astronomical,” Lahti said. “It was really important to show our willingness to reduce the budget in areas that are priorities for us, because we are responding to the public’s desire to see a lower tax increase.” Port Moody’s taxpayers have faced a combined 15.89 percent tax hike over the previous two budget cycles. Public frustration was reflected in this year’s budget consultations, with over half of respondents opposed to any increases in 2025. Approximately 70 percent of the city’s $90 million budget is funded through taxation, with the city’s provisional budget adding an additional $3.3 million from last year, amounting to $167 more for the average household. Staff’s initial tax proposal pitched a 10.85 percent when deliberations began, which council reduced to 8.52 percent following two workshops. However, reductions in the BC Assessment roll and increased labour costs and benefits added another $1.25 million, bringing the figure back up to 10.3 percent. Council has since made substantial cuts for a further $2.68 million reduction, or 4.59 percent. This includes pausing the city’s Climate Action Levy for a year ($584,000); using accumulated surplus to fund community events, inclusionary initiatives and previously deferred items ($695,000); reducing various reverse transfers ($319,000); decreasing services levels ($317,000); budget reductions ($150,000); eliminating or phasing in new budget requests ($192,000); and adjusting sick-time and vacation benefits ($150,000). The city has also recalculated the amount of revenue it expects from pay parking, recreation, filming, leasing and businesses licensing, adding $345,000. Paul Rockwood, general manager of finance and technology, said “tough economic times require tough measures.” He said the city significantly underestimated the amount of tax revenue it would bring in from new growth. Originally, staff expected to net an additional $584,000, but less than a quarter of that was realized. “We had very minimal taxation growth this year,” Rockwood said. “But we are facing increased demand, internally and externally for a variety of services.” Lahti said she’s seen a lot of public commentary regarding the lack of tax revenues from new growth, but cautioned it takes time before it shows up on the city’s balance sheet. She said she anticipates more money will be realized after a new BC Assessment roll occurs in 2025. “Hopefully next year will be a much more positive outcome for all the work that we’re putting in to provide housing,” Lahti said. “We want to see that translated into a reduction in our taxes, or at least some breathing room.” Council was defensive regarding the recent budget increases, with some members taking aim at previous council’s decisions, social media chatter, and media reporting. Coun. Kyla Knowles attacked what she described as “rampant misinformation and spin” on social media. She said comparisons with the former council’s budgets were unfair, pointing to inflationary impacts, and budget reductions from in-person events and positions being cut during the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowles also asserted the former council drained the growth-stabilization reserve, which added $400,00 annually to city coffers to help ease the loss of its industrial tax base. “The previous council depleted it to their great benefit, and it’s a shame that it didn’t continue to get topped up as we went along,” Knowles said. Couns. Callan Morrison and Samantha Agtarap both took issue with a Global News story, which ranked Port Moody’s initial 8.52 percent increase as the highest in the Lower Mainland. Agtarap said such comparisons are inevitable, but argued it is not fair to compare Port Moody to municipalities with casinos, which receive 10 percent of their net revenues. “For a community like Richmond, that’s over $12 million, and for Coquitlam, that’s almost $7 million (annually),” she said. Coun. Diana Dilworth warned of continued instability in the coming years. “There’s not a lot of certainty that any local government has at this time,” she said. She noted the Canadian dollar continues to drop, federal rebate cheques have been cancelled, and the entire political landscape could change by the next federal election. Dilworth suggested the growth-stabilization reserve ought to be re-established, stating it was initially set up in the 1990s to help ease tax impacts. Council voted to have staff report back with a strategic plan and policy to create a new reserve, dubbed by Lahti as the rate-stabilization reserve. Port Moody has until May 15 to pass the official budget.Social Security tackles overpayment ‘injustices,’ but problems remainMUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich fans protested against Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi during the teams’ Champions League match on Tuesday. The supporters held up several banners making clear their opposition to the Qatari businessman. One banner showed Al-Khelaifi’s face with a line over it, another accused him of being “plutocratic” with an expletive, and more banners read: “Minister, club owner, TV rights holder, UEFA ExCo member & ECA chairman all in one?” The 51-year-old Al-Khelaifi is unpopular among the Bayern fans for his influence on European soccer as chairman of the European Club Association, Qatar Sports Investments — the owner of PSG — and the Qatari state-owned BeIN media group. Bayern fans had long protested against their own club’s sponsorship deals with Qatar, which was accused of human rights abuses before it hosted the 2022 World Cup. The fans eventually got their way last year when Bayern’s long-running sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways was not renewed. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported at the time that the decision came from Qatar, whose emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani , was unhappy with the Bayern fans’ constant criticism and the club’s failure to distance itself from their protests. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet there's one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting to citizenship appears to be a nonstarter: Kansas. That's because the state has been there, done that, and all but a few Republicans would prefer not to go there again. Kansas imposed a proof-of-citizenship requirement over a decade ago that grew into one of the biggest political fiascos in the state in recent memory. The law, passed by the state Legislature in 2011 and implemented two years later, ended up blocking the voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote. That was 12% of everyone seeking to register in Kansas for the first time. Federal courts ultimately declared the law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasn't been enforced since 2018. Kansas provides a cautionary tale about how pursuing an election concern that in fact is extremely rare risks disenfranchising a far greater number of people who are legally entitled to vote. The state’s top elections official, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, championed the idea as a legislator and now says states and the federal government shouldn't touch it. “Kansas did that 10 years ago,” said Schwab, a Republican. “It didn’t work out so well.” Steven Fish, a 45-year-old warehouse worker in eastern Kansas, said he understands the motivation behind the law. In his thinking, the state was like a store owner who fears getting robbed and installs locks. But in 2014, after the birth of his now 11-year-old son inspired him to be “a little more responsible” and follow politics, he didn’t have an acceptable copy of his birth certificate to get registered to vote in Kansas. “The locks didn’t work,” said Fish, one of nine Kansas residents who sued the state over the law. “You caught a bunch of people who didn’t do anything wrong.” A small problem, but wide support for a fix Kansas' experience appeared to receive little if any attention outside the state as Republicans elsewhere pursued proof-of-citizenship requirements this year. Arizona enacted a requirement this year, applying it to voting for state and local elections but not for Congress or president. The Republican-led U.S. House passed a proof-of-citizenship requirement in the summer and plans to bring back similar legislation after the GOP won control of the Senate in November. In Ohio, the Republican secretary of state revised the form that poll workers use for voter eligibility challenges to require those not born in the U.S. to show naturalization papers to cast a regular ballot. A federal judge declined to block the practice days before the election. Also, sizable majorities of voters in Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and the presidential swing states of North Carolina and Wisconsin were inspired to amend their state constitutions' provisions on voting even though the changes were only symbolic. Provisions that previously declared that all U.S. citizens could vote now say that only U.S. citizens can vote — a meaningless distinction with no practical effect on who is eligible. To be clear, voters already must attest to being U.S. citizens when they register to vote and noncitizens can face fines, prison and deportation if they lie and are caught. “There is nothing unconstitutional about ensuring that only American citizens can vote in American elections,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, of Texas, the leading sponsor of the congressional proposal, said in an email statement to The Associated Press. Why the courts rejected the Kansas citizenship rule After Kansas residents challenged their state's law, both a federal judge and federal appeals court concluded that it violated a law limiting states to collecting only the minimum information needed to determine whether someone is eligible to vote. That's an issue Congress could resolve. The courts ruled that with “scant” evidence of an actual problem, Kansas couldn't justify a law that kept hundreds of eligible citizens from registering for every noncitizen who was improperly registered. A federal judge concluded that the state’s evidence showed that only 39 noncitizens had registered to vote from 1999 through 2012 — an average of just three a year. In 2013, then-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican who had built a national reputation advocating tough immigration laws, described the possibility of voting by immigrants living in the U.S. illegally as a serious threat. He was elected attorney general in 2022 and still strongly backs the idea, arguing that federal court rulings in the Kansas case “almost certainly got it wrong.” Kobach also said a key issue in the legal challenge — people being unable to fix problems with their registrations within a 90-day window — has probably been solved. “The technological challenge of how quickly can you verify someone’s citizenship is getting easier,” Kobach said. “As time goes on, it will get even easier.” Would the Kansas law stand today? The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Kansas case in 2020. But in August, it split 5-4 in allowing Arizona to continue enforcing its law for voting in state and local elections while a legal challenge goes forward. Seeing the possibility of a different Supreme Court decision in the future, U.S. Rep.-elect Derek Schmidt says states and Congress should pursue proof-of-citizenship requirements. Schmidt was the Kansas attorney general when his state's law was challenged. "If the same matter arose now and was litigated, the facts would be different," he said in an interview. But voting rights advocates dismiss the idea that a legal challenge would turn out differently. Mark Johnson, one of the attorneys who fought the Kansas law, said opponents now have a template for a successful court fight. “We know the people we can call," Johnson said. “We know that we’ve got the expert witnesses. We know how to try things like this.” He predicted "a flurry — a landslide — of litigation against this.” Born in Illinois but unable to register in Kansas Initially, the Kansas requirement's impacts seemed to fall most heavily on politically unaffiliated and young voters. As of fall 2013, 57% of the voters blocked from registering were unaffiliated and 40% were under 30. But Fish was in his mid-30s, and six of the nine residents who sued over the Kansas law were 35 or older. Three even produced citizenship documents and still didn’t get registered, according to court documents. “There wasn’t a single one of us that was actually an illegal or had misinterpreted or misrepresented any information or had done anything wrong,” Fish said. He was supposed to produce his birth certificate when he sought to register in 2014 while renewing his Kansas driver's license at an office in a strip mall in Lawrence. A clerk wouldn't accept the copy Fish had of his birth certificate. He still doesn't know where to find the original, having been born on an Air Force base in Illinois that closed in the 1990s. Several of the people joining Fish in the lawsuit were veterans, all born in the U.S., and Fish said he was stunned that they could be prevented from registering. Liz Azore, a senior adviser to the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab, said millions of Americans haven't traveled outside the U.S. and don't have passports that might act as proof of citizenship, or don't have ready access to their birth certificates. She and other voting rights advocates are skeptical that there are administrative fixes that will make a proof-of-citizenship law run more smoothly today than it did in Kansas a decade ago. “It’s going to cover a lot of people from all walks of life,” Avore said. “It’s going to be disenfranchising large swaths of the country.” Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!6 Cheaper Alternatives To The BMW X3NORAD's Santa tracker was a Cold War morale boost. Now it attracts millions of kids

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Atico Mining Co. ( CVE:ATY – Get Free Report ) hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as C$0.10 and last traded at C$0.10, with a volume of 80150 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.12. Atico Mining Price Performance The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.43. The firm has a market cap of C$12.13 million, a PE ratio of -1.43 and a beta of 2.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$0.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$0.16. Atico Mining Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Atico Mining Corporation engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of copper and gold projects in Latin America. The company also explores for silver, lead, and zinc deposits. Its holds interest in the El Roble mine located in Department of Choco, Colombia; and the La Plata project located in Ecuador. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Atico Mining Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Atico Mining and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

In the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, authorities have unearthed 11 clandestine graves holding the bodies of 15 men. This grim discovery is linked to a fierce rivalry between the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación drug cartels, authorities announced on Sunday. Chiapas Governor Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar revealed via social media that the graves were discovered during a raid in La Concordia, a city near the Mexican-Guatemalan border. The operation resulted in the arrest of four suspects and the confiscation of weapons and drugs, Aguilar stated. The state prosecutor's office detailed that the raid targeted two separate properties. The first site revealed three bodies in three graves, while the second contained eight graves with 12 bodies. The use of advanced technology, including drones and geo-radars, was employed during the search, alongside traditional forensic methods. (With inputs from agencies.)OpenAI said on Friday it was testing new reasoning AI models, o3 and o3 mini, in a sign of growing competition with rivals such as Google to create smarter models capable of tackling complex problems. CEO Sam Altman said the AI startup plans to launch o3 mini by the end of January, and full o3 after that, as more robust large language models could outperform existing models and attract new investments and users. Microsoft-backed OpenAI released o1 AI models in September designed to spend more time processing queries to solve hard problems. The o1 models are capable of reasoning through complex tasks and can solve more challenging problems than previous models in science, coding and math, the AI firm had said in a blog post. OpenAI's new o3 and o3 mini models, which are in internal safety testing currently, will be more powerful than its previously launched o1 models, the company said. The GenAI pioneer said it was opening up an application process for external researchers to test o3 models ahead of the public release, which will close on Jan. 10. OpenAI had triggered an AI arms race after it launched ChatGPT in November 2022. The growing popularity of the company and new product launches helped OpenAI in closing a $6.6 billion funding round in October. Rival Alphabet's Google released the second generation of its AI model Gemini earlier in December, as the search giant aims to reclaim the lead in the AI technology race.