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After a far-right pro-Russia candidate secured a surprise lead in Romania's presidential election Monday, the eastern European NATO member is bracing for a high-stakes parliamentary vote on Sunday, amid fears it could bring about a strategic shift in the country. Calin Georgescu was in pole position with almost 23 percent after the first round of voting, a political earthquake in the country of 19 million people that has so far resisted nationalist appeals that have gained traction in Hungary and Slovakia. His victory ahead of centre-right mayor Elena Lasconi -- who scored 19.18 percent -- ended the hopes of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to compete for the presidency in the December runoff. After coming third at 19.15, Ciolacu said his Social Democratic Party (PSD) won't challenge the narrow result, and announced his resignation as party leader. Experts say the far right's surprise success could affect the parliamentary elections later this week, and even influence the chances of forming a future government. In the runoff ballot on December 8, Lasconi will face Georgescu, a NATO critic who in the past expressed his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Georgescu's popularity surged ahead of the vote with a viral TikTok campaign calling for an end to aid for Ukraine, which shares a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border with Romania. In a first reaction on his YouTube channel, the 62-year-old independent candidate insisted "there is no East or West", stressing that neutrality was "absolutely necessary". "I am not an extremist, I am not a fascist -- I am a Romanian who loves his country," he said in reference to media reports that "tried to portray" him in a wrongful way. For his rival Lasconi, the upcoming runoff represents "an existential battle", "a historic confrontation" between those who wish to "preserve Romania's young democracy" and those who want to "return to the Russian sphere of influence". "We must not allow anger to throw us back into the past," she said to thunderous applause from her supporters, vowing to stand up for Europe and NATO. The political earthquake comes amid soaring inflation and mounting fears of Romania being potentially dragged into Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine, as the country has emerged as a key player on the alliance's eastern flank. In Sunday's vote, another far-right contender, AUR party leader George Simion, secured nearly 14 percent. Already pounding the campaign trail for this week's parliamentary elections, Simion said Romania now has "the chance to have a sovereign government and a sovereign president". Overall, the far right won more than a third of all votes in Sunday's presidential ballot. "The far right is by far the big winner of this election," political scientist Cristian Pirvulescu told AFP, predicting a possible "contagion effect" in the parliamentary vote. Extremist forces and Lasconi's centre-right party now have "wind in their sails", sociologist Gelu Duminica said, though "it remains to be seen if they know how to capitalise" on it. The PSD, which has shaped the country's politics for more than three decades, has never before been eliminated in the first round of a presidential election. The National Liberal Party (PNL) party, with whom the PSD currently governs, also suffered a defeat. While many expressed their disbelief over the poll in the streets of the capital Bucharest, others were enthused. Maria Chis, 70, said she was surprised by Georgescu's lead in the first round but had been impressed after watching his TikTok videos. "He seems a man of integrity, serious and patriotic. He inspires seriousness. I think only someone like him can bring change," said the pensioner, who was planning to vote for him in the second round. Alex Tudose, the owner of a construction company, was gloomy. "There is sorrow, disappointment, that after so many years in Euro-Atlantic structures we voted for a pro-Russian by over 20 percent," the 42-year-old said. "There is clearly a strong fragmentation both in society and in the political class, and I think we saw that yesterday," he said. ani-anb-kym/sbk

There’s a buzz around Rahm Emanuel — the former Bill Clinton adviser, former Illinois congressman, former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, former mayor of Chicago — possibly becoming the next head of the Democratic National Committee. The progressive left despises his pragmatism and liberal centrism. He has a reputation for abrasiveness. And his current job, as ambassador to Japan, has traditionally served as a posting for high-level political has-beens like Walter Mondale and Howard Baker. But he also has a gift for constructing winning coalitions with difficult, unexpected partners. More on that in a moment. When I met him for breakfast this week at a New York City hotel, what he wanted to talk about is a looming crisis in Asia. “What started as two wars in two theaters is now one war in two separate theaters,” he said of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. “We need to ensure that it does not expand into a third theater.” How soon might that happen? I mention 2027, a year that’s often seen as China’s target date for reunification with Taiwan, if necessary by force. “I think it’s actually 2025,” he said. What Emanuel has in mind are Asia’s other flashpoints, including along the 38th parallel that divides North and South Korea, where Russia is “poking” Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, “to do something” and where South Korea’s president briefly declared martial law, and also in the South China Sea, where China and the Philippines are coming to blows over Beijing’s illegal maritime claims. Unlike with Taipei, to which America’s obligations are deliberately ambiguous, with Manila and Seoul our defense commitments are ironclad. That could mean war for the United States on multiple unexpected fronts. Emanuel’s tenure as ambassador was distinguished by his role in engineering two historic rapprochements — last year between Japan and South Korea and this year between Japan and the Philippines — that, along with the AUKUS defense pact with Britain and Australia, form part of a broad diplomatic effort by the Biden administration to contain China. The Chinese, Emanuel said, “have a theory of the case in the Indo-Pacific. We have a theory of the case. Their attempt is to isolate Australia, isolate the Philippines and put all the pressure on that country,” often through abusive trade practices. “Our job is to flip the script and isolate China through their actions.” That seems like a tall order now that Donald Trump is returning to Washington promising to impose exactly the kinds of abusive trade practices that drive allies and potential allies away. That topic provides an opening for me to change the subject to how Democrats might repair their fortunes. “I was waiting,” he wisecracks. “I knew that was foreplay.” Emanuel recognizes the anti-incumbent mood along with missed messaging chances by Kamala Harris’ campaign. But there was a larger mistake by Democrats, he said, many years in the making. In 2006, when as a congressman Emanuel was recruiting veterans to help flip Congress to the Democrats, the party was “anti-Washington, anti-establishment.” It opposed the war in Iraq, and it later channeled some of the outrage Americans felt toward the bankers who never paid a price for the 2008 financial crisis. (Emanuel, who had his own stint in investment banking, said he argued for “Old Testament justice” for those bankers when he was in the Obama White House.) Then came the pandemic. “In COVID, the Democrats put on the outfit of the establishment. ‘We’re going to close schools, you’re going to close these jobs, you listen to the scientists, listen to the science,’” he said. “As both a child of a doctor and a brother of a doctor, sometimes you need a second opinion.” So how do Democrats reclaim their old advantages? “From ’68 to ’88, a 20-year run, you had ‘law and order,’ ‘welfare queens,’ Willie Horton — that was the Republican message,” Emanuel recalls. “Bill Clinton comes around and takes the equation of crime, immigration, drugs, welfare, the whole basket of cultural issues, and gets them off the table.” All of these required Clinton to pick at least as many fights with his party’s left as he picked against Republicans, and even now there are parts of the Democratic Party that are still sore about it. “As I always say to the left, what part of the peace and prosperity were you most upset with?” he asked. “Which part did you hate? Was it the income growth, the employment growth, the drop in welfare rolls, the drop in crime, the fact that America was respected around the world, peace in the Middle East? Which part did you hate most?” Emanuel doesn’t think it’s impossible for Democrats to repeat Clinton’s feat, though whether it will take one bad election or more remains to be seen. As in his views about the geopolitics of Asia, where Chinese blundering and bullying should play to America’s advantage, so too in domestic politics. Trump “is going to turn the Oval Office into eBay,” he predicts. It will be the Democrats’ challenge to illuminate the fact. The trick in both cases is not to undermine your own side as you try to defeat the other. “I think Democrats prefer losing and being morally right to winning,” he said. “Me, I’m not into moral victory speeches. I’m into winning.” — This article originally appeared in . c. 2024 The New York Times Company

Google on Monday showed off a new quantum computing chip that it said was a major breakthrough that could bring practical quantum computing closer to reality. A custom chip called "Willow" does in minutes what it would take leading supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete, according to Google Quantum AI founder Hartmut Neven. "Written out, there is a 1 with 25 zeros," Neven said of the time span while briefing journalists. "A mind-boggling number." Neven's team of about 300 people at Google is on a mission to build quantum computing capable of handling otherwise unsolvable problems like safe fusion power and stopping climate change. "We see Willow as an important step in our journey to build a useful quantum computer with practical applications in areas like drug discovery, fusion energy, battery design and more," said Google CEO Sundar Pichai on X. A quantum computer that can tackle these challenges is still years away, but Willow marks a significant step in that direction, according to Neven and members of his team. While still in its early stages, scientists believe that superfast quantum computing will eventually be able to power innovation in a range of fields. Quantum research is seen as a critical field and both the United States and China have been investing heavily in the area, while Washington has also placed restrictions on the export of the sensitive technology. Olivier Ezratty, an independent expert in quantum technologies, told AFP in October that private and public investment in the field has totaled around $20 billion worldwide over the past five years. Regular computers function in binary fashion: they carry out tasks using tiny fragments of data known as bits that are only ever either expressed as 1 or 0. But fragments of data on a quantum computer, known as qubits, can be both 1 and 0 at the same time -- allowing them to crunch an enormous number of potential outcomes simultaneously. Crucially, Google's chip demonstrated the ability to reduce computational errors exponentially as it scales up -- a feat that has eluded researchers for nearly 30 years. The breakthrough in error correction, published in leading science journal Nature, showed that adding more qubits to the system actually reduced errors rather than increasing them -- a fundamental requirement for building practical quantum computers. Error correction is the "end game" in quantum computing and Google is "confidently progressing" along the path, according to Google director of quantum hardware Julian Kelly. gc/arp/bjtLigand Pharmaceuticals: Buy This Strong Growing Pharma And Get A Stake In Dozens Of TherapiesNearly two years after the show debuted, the wait for Severance ‘s return is nearly over. With Season 2 of the 7x Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ sci-fi series premiering Jan. 17, creator Dan Erickson and EP/director Ben Stiller explained that the Hollywood strikes were only partially to blame for the delays. “It took a while to write season two,” Stiller recently told Vanity Fair . “Then we started to shoot in October of 2022, and we got shut down by the strike in May [2023]. At that point, we had completed about 7 of our 10 episodes, and then we had to regroup after the strike. It takes us a while to prep the show. And so, we didn’t start shooting until January [2024]. Then we shot from January to May to finish the last three episodes.” As Erickson explained, Severance is “a very intricate show” with many of its characters living double lives, thanks to the show’s fictional technology that allows corporate employees to surgically divide their memories of their work and personal lives. “Each character has two lives—essentially, two personalities—and we are expanding,” he said. “For me, the writing was the most painstaking part of the process because there were so many ways we could go. And sometimes we would come up with something that worked perfectly well on paper, and then it wouldn’t be until we got there and we’re shooting it that we realize: This isn’t quite it. We were never willing to let that turn it into something that wasn’t perfect.” Their commitment to perfection resulted in more than just rewrites, with parts of production already happening when they decided to return to the drawing board. Erickson noted there were “entire locations that we were planning to go to. We had already built or partially built them when we realized, ‘Oh, that’s not going to work.’ Those aren’t always fun calls to have with the studio, where you’re like, ‘Hey, you know that thing you put a lot of resources into? Well, we’re not going to do it now, or we’re going to do something that’s totally different.’ But again, at the end of the day, it’s worth it.” In the 10-episode Season 2, Mark (Adam Scott) and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe. In addition to Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette and new series regular Sarah Bock also star.

Fresh plea in SC seeks probe into US indictment of Gautam Adani PTI Updated: November 24th, 2024, 17:21 IST in Business , National 0 File Image Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Share on Linkedin New Delhi: A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a probe into the indictment of billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani who has been charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud, saying the move “unveiled malpractices carried out by the conglomerate”. The plea has been filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari as an interlocutory application in the batch of pleas in the Adani-Hindenburg row over allegations of stock price manipulation by the Indian corporate giant. Also Read Mcap of 8 of top-10 most-valued domestic firms jumps Rs 1.55 lakh cr; HDFC Bank, TCS sparkle 3 hours ago PM Modi to participate in ‘Odisha Parba 2024’ in New Delhi today 4 hours ago The US Department of Justice has accused Adani of being part of an elaborate scheme to pay $265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts in four Indian states. The Adani Group has denied the charge, saying the allegations levelled by the US prosecutors are baseless and that the conglomerate is compliant with all laws. It also vowed to pursue all possible legal recourse. In his plea before the apex court, Tiwari contended that the allegations against Adani are of “serious nature” and should be investigated by the Indian authorities. “The SEBI has to inspire confidence by concluding the investigations and placing on record the report and conclusion of the probes. As there were allegations of short selling in the SEBI investigation and the present allegations levelled by the foreign authorities might have connection or may not have, but SEBI’s investigation report should clear this so that the investors may not loose confidence,” the plea said. PTI Tags: ADANI Gautam Adani Supreme Court Share Tweet Send Share Suggest A Correction Enter your email to get our daily news in your inbox. Leave this field empty if you're human:'I Played 244 Games With Salah at Liverpool - He Frustrated Everyone With His Selfishness'Paddy or rice, a water-guzzling crop partly responsible for heavy winter pollution in northern India, continues to be the most subsidised and profitable crop, which has thwarted a shift to alternatives such as pulses and maize, experts have said. An effective solution will have to come from multi-pronged steps, including sufficient incentives, leading to large-scale crop diversification, experts said. Analysts say satellite monitoring and imposition of fines, known environmental compensation, are not preventive or agricultural solutions and these have not been effective in stopping pollution-causing paddy-residue fires. Another issue scuttling alternatives to stubble burning is the absence of an efficient supply chain and market for the commercial use of paddy leftovers. Effective utilisation of straw requires supply of straw from farmers, robust infrastructure for storing and transporting stubble to end-users and established markets to facilitate transactions between farmers and buyers, said Udhaya Kumar of the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy. Kumar and his colleagues published a report in August analysing the market for stubble. In 2021-22, the profit margin for paddy towered over most summer crops, with differences ranging from ₹ 66,663 a hectare for maize and ₹ 11,462 for moong (green gram) in Punjab to ₹ 68,849 per hectare for bajra (pearl millet) and ₹ 36,295 for cotton in Haryana, according to calculations by Ashok Gulati, an agricultural economist. Agricultural subsidies Since subsidies are heavily skewed towards rice, it will be “difficult” to push dedicated paddy farmers towards other crops unless “agricultural subsidies are re-purposed”, said Gulati of the New Delhi -based think-tank, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, states. In an earlier era, paddy was harvested manually, which meant farmers would cut the whole plant. They now use mechanized harvesters, which cut the grain, leaving behind the straw. The cheapest way to eliminate the stubble is to burn them. Delhi's toxic winter smog triggered by fires to clear paddy residue has also been intensified by the Punjab Subsoil Water Act, 2009, designed to conserve groundwater by delaying paddy sowing. The law mandates that farmers sow paddy only when the monsoon arrives over northern India. This has pushed back harvesting to coincide with a period, around mid-November, when wind speed usually stalls in northern states. Lack of strong winds prevents the disbursal of smog, helping it to blanket Delhi for days. The combined subsidies for paddy from the Centre and the state government in Punjab for power, seeds, fertilizer and irrigation amounted to a staggering ₹ 38,973 per hectare during 2023-24, the highest for any crop, according to ICRIER’s calculations. Not all crops get the same benefits of subsidies. In 2021-22, cultivators in Punjab and Haryana used more fertilizers on paddy than other crops, suggesting that a substantial portion of the fertilizer subsidy is funnelled into paddy, according to Gulati’s study. Farmers prefer paddy also because of a guaranteed minimum support price (MSP), a floor rate, which makes it a high-income crop The government buys out paddy and wheat at MSP rates. “This assurance is absent for other crops, leaving them vulnerable to the whims of the market,” economist Gulati said, adding paddy subsidies needn’t be eliminated but repurposed. India is a major exporter of rice, which makes up for over 40% of global shipments. In 2021-22, the country exported nearly 22 million tonne of the grain, about a sixth of its total output. The country had banned exports of the grain in August 2023 to cool rising cereal inflation, which was lifted in October this year.

Google announces quantum computing chip breakthroughALTOONA – Harrisburg unleashed all its fight and resilience Saturday against Pittsburgh Central Catholic, and still it wasn’t enough to keep the Cougars’ engaging football season in gear. The Vikings took full advantage of countless short-field opportunities at Mansion Park Stadium but needed an end zone interception by freshman safety Chrys Black Jr. in the waning seconds to secure a frantic 38-33 PIAA semifinal victory. • Sign up for PennLive’s daily high school sports newsletter The Cougars, playing in their fourth straight 6A semifinal, clawed back from deficits of 13-0 and 38-21. In fact, the numbers proved how Calvin Everett’s hard chargers nearly sent the WPIAL champs packing. Harrisburg won the first down battle 23-12 and outgained the Vikings 540-243 in total yards from scrimmage. Staggering. However, quick scoring drives, 132 rushing yards by PCC’s Elijah Faulkner, and heady play by QB Jy’Aire Walls helped fend off the Cougars (11-3). Pittsburgh Central Catholic (12-2) advanced to next Saturday’s PIAA 6A Championship to play St. Joseph’s Prep at 7 p.m. The Cougars, paced by QB Jaiyon Lewis, WR Elias Coke and a dozen more, missed their chance to power into the season finale for the second time in three seasons. The stars The Vikings ruined Harrisburg’s opening half via pressure on special teams. A blocked punt by Bradley Gompers was one miscue by the Cougars that gifted PCC terrific field position. The Vikings’ four scoring drives in the first 24 minutes began at Harrisburg’s 42, 27, 34 and 28-yard lines. But the Cougars didn’t exactly shy away from PCC’s formidable attack. They simply hit back. A pair of TD runs by Messiah Mickens and a Jaiyon Lewis keeper pulled Harrisburg within 28-21 at the break. Another Walls score midway through the third, coupled with Billy Lech’s 36-yard field goal, only spiked Harrisburg’s approach. Lewis, who missed several minutes due to an injury, came back to find Quincy Brannon for a 62-yard score near the end of the third. Lewis finished 14 of 24 for 298 yards. His performance included a fourth-quarter heave to Coke, who burned the Vikings for 134 receiving yards on five catches. It was Coke’s 30-yard TD reception — one for the highlight reel — that got Harrisburg within five with under 7 minutes to play. Vikings’ WR/DB Xxavier Thomas collected 5 catches for 55 yards and delivered a handful of big returns. Game-winning moment Harrisburg would force PCC’s seventh punt in the final minutes and set up at its own 11 with 3:54 to play. On fourth-and-18, Lewis found Brannon across the middle to the PCC 26. After two short runs by Lewis and an incompletion, the QB sprinted right on fourth down and flipped into the end zone, where Black Jr. was waiting. PCC took one knee to erase the final 34 seconds. Mickens led Harrisburg’s rushing attack with 89 yards. Brannon totaled 97 yards on three receptions. Walls was 7 of 15 for 91 passing yards and was in on four scores for the Vikings. They said it: “The toughest part of stopping those guys was not getting frustrated and working together. As soon as one gets frustrated it’s cancer and people start messing up. We knew going in that we have a great offense and great players. Some of the players just had to realize that we’re always in it. It’s our mentality.” – Harrisburg OL Kevin Brown “How the tides were changing in the game, we had to stay composed, stay poised, and do what we do best. As long as we could keep the fundamentals clean and hold true to what we do, hold true to our buzz, we were going to pull out the dub.” – PCC WR/DB Xxavier Thomas “That’s my boy. All the recruits talk on a daily basis. That’s one of my true friends right there.” – Thomas on fellow Penn State recruit Messiah Mickens Pittsburgh CC 6-22-10-0 – 38 Harrisburg 0-21-6-6 – 33 First quarter PCC-Elijah Faulkner 42 run (pass failed), 5:10 Second quarter PCC-Jy’Aire Walls 13 run (Billy Lech kick), 10:28 H-Messiah Mickens 11 run (Gideon Fasanya kick), 9:20 PCC-Max Roman 25 pass from Walls (Walls run), 8:45 H-Mickens 15 run (Fasanya kick), 4:57 PCC-Xxavier Thomas 23 pass from Walls (Lech kick), 1:17 H-Jaiyon Lewis 1 run (Fasanya kick), :14 Third quarter PCC-Walls 1 run (Lech kick), 7:01 PCC-FG Lech 36, 4:20 H-Quincy Brannon 62 pass from Lewis (kick failed), 2:42 Fourth quarter H-Elias Coke 30 pass from Lewis (kick failed), 6:37 Team statistics PCC H First downs: 12 23 Rush-yards: 37-152 43-234 Passing: 91 306 Comp-Att-Int: 7-15-0 15-26-1 Fumbles-lost: 0-0 5-2 Punts-Avg.: 7-43.6 6-21.2 Penalties-yards: 6-46 8-82 Individual statistics RUSHING: Pittsburgh CC, Elijah Faulkner 25-132, Jy’Aire Walls 9-18, Roman Thompson 1-2, Team 2-0; Harrisburg, Messiah Mickens 18-89, Jaiyon Lewis 15-68, D’Antae Sheffey 2-49, Nehemiah Ewell 7-36, Mikal Shank Jr. 1-(minus-8). PASSING: Pittsburgh CC, Walls 7-15-0—91; Harrisburg, Lewis 14-24-1—298, Shank Jr. 1-1-0—8, Mickens 0-1-0—0. RECEIVING: Pittsburgh CC, Xxavier Thomas 5-55, Max Roman 2-36; Harrisburg, Elias Coke 5-134, Quincy Brannon 3-97, Kymir Williams 2-34, Mickens 4-33, Sheffey 1-8. Follow Eric Epler on X/Twitter — @threejacker Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. ©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit pennlive.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

To The New York Times, it was a standard journalistic practice done in the name of fairness — asking someone involved in a story for comment. To the mother of the nominee for secretary of defense, it constituted a threat. On Wednesday, Pete Hegseth's mother accused the Times of making “threats” by calling about its story on an email she had sent to her son six years earlier that criticized his treatment of women. Penelope Hegseth sought and received an interview on Fox News Channel to support her son, whose confirmation chances are threatened by a series of damaging stories about his personal conduct. At one point, she said she wanted to directly tell President-elect Trump that her son “is not that man he was seven years ago.” People are also reading... She also called the Times “despicable” and attacked a basic tenet of journalism: giving someone the chance to speak for a story about actions that could be seen in a negative light. The Times' story, published Saturday , quoted from a private email that Penelope Hegseth sent to her son in 2018 while he was in the midst of divorcing his second wife. She criticized his character and treatment of women, suggesting that he get some help. “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego,” she wrote to her offspring. “You are that man (and have been for many years).” His mother said the message was sent in a moment of anger She told the Times for its story that she had sent the email in a moment of anger and followed it up two hours later with an apology. She disavows its content now. When the Times called her for comment on the story, Hegseth told Fox News that, at first, she did not respond. She said she perceived the calls as a threat — “they say unless you make a statement we will publish it as is and I think that's a despicable way to treat anyone,” she said. “I don't think a lot of people know that's the way they operate,” she said, speaking about the story. She accused the newspaper of being in it "for the money. And they don't care who they hurt, families, children. I don't believe that's the right way to do things.” Charles Stadtlander, a spokesman for the Times, said Hegseth's claim “is flatly untrue,” and she was in no way threatened. “The Times did what it always does in reporting out a story, simply reaching out and asking for a comment, which we included,” he said. Such a call is the opposite of a threat — it's an attempt to be fair, said Tom Rosenstiel, a University of Maryland professor and co-author of “Elements of Journalism: What News People Should Know and What the Public Should Expect.” “She's basically saying that brake lights are a threat because they alert you that the car ahead of you is about to stop," he said. But many Americans would perceive that call as a threat, or certainly as rude and a violation of privacy, said Tim Graham, director of media analysis at the conservative Media Research Center. “She didn't write that email to be on the front page of The New York Times,” he said. What are the ethics of publishing a private email between mother and son? A secondary question is the newsworthiness of publishing the content of the private email, one that Hegseth said she almost immediately regretted sending and doesn't reflect how she perceives her son. Graham suggested that the newspaper wouldn't do the same for the nominee of a Democratic president-elect. “The New York Times is out to destroy these nominees,” he said. In its initial story, the Times wrote that it had obtained a copy of the email “from another person with ties to the Hegseth family.” “This was a piece of independently reported journalism published in the name of public awareness of the nominee to lead the largest department in the federal government,” Stadtlander said. “We stand behind it completely.” In many circumstances, an email from a mother to her son would be considered a private matter and out of bounds to a news organization, Rosenstiel said. But in this case, Hegseth, a former Fox News weekend host chosen by Trump to lead the Pentagon, has built himself into a public figure and is up for a very important job — and one that leads the military, which involves waging war and in which character is considered a fundamental trait. “It makes this news, honestly,” Stadtlander said. The Times wrote about Penelope Hegseth's Fox interview on Wednesday, leading with her saying her son “was not the same man he was in 2018 when she fired off an email accusing him of routinely abusing women and lacking decency and character.” There was some question about whether Hegseth would appear for an interview at his former network on Wednesday, after CNN's Kaitlan Collins posted on X the night before that “multiple people” said that was expected. A Fox News representative said that no such interview had been scheduled, and the nominee was on Capitol Hill meeting with senators. He has faced a flurry of other damaging reports, including stories about a sexual assault allegation reported to police in 2017. No charges were filed then, and Hegseth said the relationship was consensual. The New Yorker magazine wrote about reports of financial mismanagement , sexist behavior and excessive drinking when Hegseth ran a veterans' organization, and NBC News wrote about people at Fox News concerned about his alcohol use. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.Romania braces for parliamentary vote after far right's poll upsetMichael Dell’s net worth (and how much he makes as CEO)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of iShares Agency Bond ETF ( NYSEARCA:AGZ – Free Report ) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 663 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.71% of iShares Agency Bond ETF worth $5,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGZ. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares Agency Bond ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in iShares Agency Bond ETF during the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in iShares Agency Bond ETF in the second quarter worth approximately $108,000. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of iShares Agency Bond ETF by 17.5% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Agency Bond ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at $346,000. 9.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. iShares Agency Bond ETF Stock Performance Shares of NYSEARCA AGZ opened at $108.34 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.83. iShares Agency Bond ETF has a 52-week low of $106.17 and a 52-week high of $110.89. About iShares Agency Bond ETF THE ISHARES BARCLAYS AGENCY BOND FUND seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the agency sector of the U.S. government bond market as defined by the Barclays Capital U.S. Agency Index. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Agency Bond ETF ( NYSEARCA:AGZ – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Agency Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Agency Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .‘Tis the season for a cup of cheer, the Holly Jolly Holiday Bar is here. The pop-up is now open at EP & LP in West Hollywood through Sunday, Dec. 22. The price per admission for the strictly 21 and over event starts at $23 and includes a 90-minute reservation and a welcome cocktail. Brunch is available on Saturday and Sunday at $50 per person and includes a 90-minute reservation, a main entree and a welcome cocktail. Tickets can be purchased at hollyjollybar.com . To help get into the holiday spirit, the halls will be decked with floor-to-ceiling tinsel, trimmings, ornaments, stockings, Christmas trees covered in lights and even some figurines of the big man himself, Santa Claus. Festive bargoers might enjoy a cocktail served in a Christmas-themed mug. Other drinks are decorated with candy canes or have red, green and white sprinkled rims. SEE ALSO: How the new Zero Lounge bar will serve Y2K nostalgia in Hollywood Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, this bar welcomes everyone to enjoy cocktails such as the Rum Rudolph Rum, Drummer Boy, Rockin’ Around, and Sleigh Ride, which is Mexican Hot Chocolate served with a toasted marshmallow. There are also two mocktail options: Silent Night and Let It Snow. The food options include burgers, loaded fries, turkey pot pie, and a lobster roll. For dessert, guests can enjoy the festive Loaded Brownie with chocolate sauce, sprinkles and ice cream. The Jolly Holly Holiday Bar is located at 603 N La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood. Related Articles

Google on Monday showed off a new quantum computing chip that it said was a major breakthrough that could bring practical quantum computing closer to reality. A custom chip called "Willow" does in minutes what it would take leading supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete, according to Google Quantum AI founder Hartmut Neven. "Written out, there is a 1 with 25 zeros," Neven said of the time span while briefing journalists. "A mind-boggling number." Neven's team of about 300 people at Google is on a mission to build quantum computing capable of handling otherwise unsolvable problems like safe fusion power and stopping climate change. "We see Willow as an important step in our journey to build a useful quantum computer with practical applications in areas like drug discovery, fusion energy, battery design and more," said Google CEO Sundar Pichai on X. A quantum computer that can tackle these challenges is still years away, but Willow marks a significant step in that direction, according to Neven and members of his team. While still in its early stages, scientists believe that superfast quantum computing will eventually be able to power innovation in a range of fields. Quantum research is seen as a critical field and both the United States and China have been investing heavily in the area, while Washington has also placed restrictions on the export of the sensitive technology. Olivier Ezratty, an independent expert in quantum technologies, told AFP in October that private and public investment in the field has totaled around $20 billion worldwide over the past five years. Regular computers function in binary fashion: they carry out tasks using tiny fragments of data known as bits that are only ever either expressed as 1 or 0. But fragments of data on a quantum computer, known as qubits, can be both 1 and 0 at the same time -- allowing them to crunch an enormous number of potential outcomes simultaneously. Crucially, Google's chip demonstrated the ability to reduce computational errors exponentially as it scales up -- a feat that has eluded researchers for nearly 30 years. The breakthrough in error correction, published in leading science journal Nature, showed that adding more qubits to the system actually reduced errors rather than increasing them -- a fundamental requirement for building practical quantum computers. Error correction is the "end game" in quantum computing and Google is "confidently progressing" along the path, according to Google director of quantum hardware Julian Kelly. gc/arp/bjtGrogan sends Aherlow into Munster final

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