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Shamrock Rovers make history as they seal Europa Conference knockout spot after win over FK Borac Banja LukaPITTSBURGH — Many Americans consider social media a scourge, but for a home cook, it can be a fun and informative place to get help deciding what to eat. Sure, some of the recipes would-be influencers recommend are in fact pretty abominable — check out @chefreactions on TikTok, Instagram or X for many, many examples — but I have stumbled across some pretty good recipes on many occasions, too. One that’s been going viral for a while and but only recently caught my eye shines a spotlight on the creamy, tomatoey dish known as Marry Me chicken. There are probably as many recipes for Marry Me chicken on social media as there are cooks. (Delish claims to have created the video recipe for the original dish, also known as Tuscan chicken, in 2016.) But in my opinion, the best variations hang their chef’s hat on a sauce made with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and cream. Yum! This rich and luxurious entree is a definite step above the “engagement” chicken that caused a similar stir when it made its debut in Glamour magazine in 2004. That proposal-worthy recipe — saved for posterity in the 2011 cookbook “100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know: Engagement Chicken and 99 Other Fabulous Dishes to Get You Everything You Want in Life” — featured a whole chicken roasted with lemon and herbs. Awesome for sure, but not nearly as swoon worthy. I’ve been married for a very long time, so I’m not looking for a dish that will get me engaged. But who wouldn’t want applause when they put dinner on the table? That’s how Delish’s original recipe made it into the latest installment of “Dinner for Four for $25.” Usually when I’m building these economical meals, I do all my shopping in one store. This time, I shopped over the course of a weekend at some of my favorite haunts to see if that made a difference. (And no, I didn’t factor in the cost of gas, but maybe should have!) First stop after downing my Saturday morning latte and Nutella mele at a street-side table at Colangelo’s in the Strip District: Wholey’s Market, where I found boneless chicken breast at the bargain price of $3.89 per pound. I then crossed the street and headed down the block to Pennsylvania Macaroni Co., where I found several varieties of sun-dried tomatoes to chose from. I went with a jar of Ponti sun-dried cherry tomatoes for $5.09 — a definite splurge when your budget is only $25, but an ingredient I knew would deliver plenty of flavor. At Aldi, I found a bag of five huge lemons for $3.89, or 78 cents apiece, and a nice package of fresh broccoli for $2.28. A bargain, considering I would only use about two-thirds of it. The German supermarket chain known for its low prices and no-frills shopping experience (you have to deposit a quarter to get a shopping cart) also had butter — a main ingredient in my sandwich cookie dessert — on sale for $3.99 a pound. A bag of powdered sugar was pretty cheap, too, at just $2.09 for a two-pound bag. “Shopping” my pantry for ingredients I always have on hand, including garlic, olive oil, spices, rice, molasses and vanilla, once again helped keep costs down. Total bill: $24.38, or 62 cents under budget. Not bad when you consider the homemade dessert recipe makes more oatmeal sandwich cookies than a family can/should eat at one sitting. Sun-dried tomatoes could be considered a splurge item because even a tiny jar is expensive, but their concentrated, sweet and tangy tomato goodness add so much flavor to a dish! They are certainly the star of this chicken dish that has been making the rounds on social media platforms. Some say the entree is so good, you’ll get a marriage proposal out of it. At any rate, the Parmesan cream sauce that gets spooned on top of the chicken and rice will certainly make your diners swoon. This original recipe from is a pretty easy dish to get on the table in quick fashion. Just remember to use a dry pot holder to take the pan out of the oven because it will be very hot; I very stupidly used a damp dish towel and now have another cooking scar. 4 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 3/4 cup chicken broth 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan Fresh basil, torn, for serving, optional Cooked rice, for serving Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Generously season chicken with salt and black pepper and cook, turning halfway through, until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate. In same skillet over medium heat, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Stir in garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, tomatoes, cream, and Parmesan; season with salt. Bring to a simmer, then return chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet. Transfer skillet to oven. Bake chicken until cooked through and juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife, 10-12 minutes. Arrange chicken on a platter. Spoon sauce over. Top with basil, if using, and serve with cooked rice. Serves 4. — Broccoli is a reliable veggie when you need a little something extra to round out a meal and don’t want to spend a fortune. Here, it’s blanched until crisp-tender and then tossed with lemon juice and zest and a pinch of red pepper flakes. I used lemon olive oil (already on hand) for an extra burst of citrus flavor. 1 large bunch broccoli, separated into florets 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter 1 clove garlic, minced Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon 1 pinch (or two) red pepper flakes Flaky salt and freshly ground ground black pepper, to taste Place broccolini in a large skillet with about 2 inches of water; bring to a boil and cook until bright green, 1-2 minutes. Drain. Heat olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until golden and fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add broccoli; cook and stir until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice and zest over broccoli and season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Serves 4. — Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette Remember how if you were lucky when you were a kid you got an individually wrapped Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie in your lunchbox? These soft and chewy oatmeal cookies sandwiched with vanilla buttercream taste exactly the same. Actually, they’re better because they’re not made with corn syrup and artificial flavorings, but rather real butter and brown sugar. It’s important to let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a rack. Otherwise they will fall apart. The icing is very sweet, so you might want to reduce the amount of powdered sugar. For cookies 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 tablespoon molasses 1 large egg, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt For filling 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 3 cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons heavy cream 2 teaspoons vanilla Pinch of salt Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two sheet pans with parchment paper. In stand mixer outfitted with whisk attachment add butter, brown sugar and molasses and beat on low speed until combined. Gradually increase speed to medium-high and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with spatula, then add egg and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Add flour, oats, baking soda and salt and beat on low speed until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Use a 1/2 -ounce cookie scoop tor tablespoon measure to portion out equal amounts of dough. Roll the dough in your hands to smooth the edges, then place 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Bake until cookies have puffed up and are set and firm around the edges but still somewhat soft in the middle, 9-11 minutes. Remove sheet pans from oven and allow cookies to rest on the pans for 5 minutes, then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cookies have cooled, make filling. In stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla and salt. Beat on low speed, gradually increasing the speed to high, until creamy and fully incorporated, about 45 seconds. If filling is dry, add a small splash or two of cream. Assemble cookies. Using a small offset spatula or butter knife to spread about 2 tablespoons of filling onto the bottom side of one cookie, then place second cookie on top to sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and serve. Makes 16 sandwich cookies. —”Sweet Tooth” by Sarah Fennel (Clarkson Potter, $35) ©2024 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Crypto Boom Incoming 6 Tokens Ready To Surge as Market RecoversAt least 460 fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were killed in an ambush by the Sudanese army and allied joint forces in the state of North Darfur in western Sudan, according to a military communique. or signup to continue reading In the statement issued on Sunday, Joint Forces military spokesman Ahmed Mustafa said the army and its allied militias ambushed three RSF convoys north of the town of Malit on Saturday afternoon. "The fighting resulted in the death of more than 460 members of the (RSF) militia, including prominent commanders... notably Taha Mudalal, the nephew of militia leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (alias Hemedti)," Mustafa said in the statement. He also claimed that the army and joint forces destroyed more than a hundred RSF military vehicles and seized 60 others that were "in excellent condition." "We report that three convoys of the (RSF) militia have been completely wiped out, causing them heavy human and material losses, while security control in the liberated areas has been strengthened and secured," the statement added. Malit is about 60km north of Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and the only army stronghold in western Sudan. The FAR controls four of the five states that make up the Darfur region and has intensified its attacks on North Darfur, which is home to the army's main headquarters and several displacement camps that house tens of thousands of people. The war in Sudan began on April 15, 2023, and has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and made the country the site of the world's worst displacement crisis, with more than 14 million people forced to flee their homes, including more than three million who have fled to neighbouring countries. The Sudanese Armed Forces - under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan - and General Hemedti's RSF were part of the military government that seized power in 2021 and began a political process to return the country to a democratic path that included integrating the RSF into the regular army when tensions flared and all-out war broke out between the two. Several human rights organisations and countries such as the United States have accused both the army and the FAR of committing crimes against humanity and even ethnic cleansing during the war, which both sides have denied. The atrocities are reminiscent of the Darfur genocide when an estimated 200,000 people were killed between 2003 and 2005 DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! 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Preview: Brighton & Hove Albion Women vs. Tottenham Hotspur Women - prediction, team news, lineups

AP Sports SummaryBrief at 5:38 p.m. ESTWest Ham United's 'humiliations' under manager Julen Lopetegui are 'acceptable', according to The Guardian's Jacob Steinberg, reacting to their first-half performance against Liverpool . The Hammers went into the break 3-0 down after some shambolic defending from Lopetegui's side. Although Liverpool have been in excellent form this season, the capitulation at the London Stadium will have been a major disappointment for the supporters. It's a common theme throughout the season for West Ham, with Lopetegui treading on thin ice. The Spanish manager has been under immense pressure throughout the campaign, but he's managed to wiggle his way out of trouble on numerous occasions. Lopetegui is 'Getting Away With it' at West Ham Reacting on social media at half-time, Steinberg suggested that Lopetegui has been getting away with too many humiliations at West Ham throughout the season. The respected journalist added that it's 'beyond acceptable', regardless of the opposition on this occasion. "How many humiliations in half a season does one manager get away with? Beyond acceptable, even if Liverpool brilliant. Barely competing. And West Ham lucky during that four-game unbeaten run that opponents didn’t punish them." It's a bit of a damning verdict from Steinberg, hinting that Lopetegui has been getting away with it for too long now. Although the Hammers narrowly defeated fellow struggles Southampton last time out, some of their performances this season have been unacceptable, especially in front of their own fans. West Ham shipped five goals at home to Arsenal and three to Chelsea at the London Stadium, while also suffering heavy defeats at Tottenham in the Premier League and Liverpool in the EFL Cup. The supporters have regularly voiced their frustrations at Lopetegui's style of football, and it's no surprise after big investment during the summer transfer window. Lopetegui has struggled to get the best out of the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Jean-Clair Todibo, while we've barely seen young starlet Luis Guilherme in action. It will be interesting to see how the West Ham board react after another disappointing performance from the Hammers, but they've shown faith in the manager so far this season. West Ham United are interested in signing Manchester City midfielder James McAtee in January.

Real and meaningful friendships among F1 teammates are one of the rarest sights in the paddock. However, former AlphaTauri (now RB) teammates Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly stand out as an exception. Although they are no longer teammates, they continue to share a very strong bond. Back in 2022, the young Japanese driver went onto the social networking platform Reddit to answer fan questions. When asked what was the #10 driver’s most annoying habit, Tsunoda was quick to lay it bare. He replied, “Yelling in French at night time when he’s playing games and in the room next to me.” No matter how hilarious the reply maybe, many will take it with a pinch of irony today, given the #22 driver’s fate within the Red Bull driver stable. Gasly’s ‘yelling’ is a trait now attributed to Tsunoda himself. The 24-year-old is regarded as a driver who easily loses his cool and is infamous for his swearing rants on the team radio. This is something that is being singled out as a factor for him getting snubbed by Red Bull once again. Red Bull face massive backlash for snubbing Tsunoda again Earlier this month, the Milton-Keynes-based outfit announced that Sergio Perez would not be driving for the team in 2025. Naturally, his successor was named from RB but it was not Tsunoda. Instead, it was his relatively inexperienced teammate Liam Lawson. This decision all but confirms Red Bull’s intentions of not promoting the Japanese racing ace, much to the frustrations of his fans, who expressed the same on social media. Many prominent voices inside the paddock also raised questions about Red Bulls’ treatment of the #22 driver . Despite having a tendency to lose his cool, Tsunoda has shown in the last two seasons that he has matured as a driver. Moreover, team advisor Helmut Marko had himself praised him for his improved temperament and results on the track. Therefore, it seems a little unconvincing to hear about Lawson’s promotion, especially when Tsunoda has beaten every teammate Red Bull have thrown at him in the last two seasons, including the New Zealander.

Ripple (XRP) is attracting interest as it prepares to climb to $12.50, a big step from its present trading value. But savvy investors are looking to two revolutionary altcoins— Rexas Finance (RXS) and Cardano (ADA)—before XRP's expected bull run. Both initiatives present original technological innovations, establishing themselves as main competitors in blockchain innovation alongside decentralized finance (DeFi). Rexas Finance (RXS): Redefining Decentralized Finance and Real Estate Tokenization Although Ripple's $12.50 rally is much awaited, investors may find exceptional value in the possible returns from Rexas Finance and Cardano. Rexas Finance's emphasis on tokenizing actual assets bridges conventional finance with blockchain and offers a strong basis for long-term expansion. Its outstanding presale results and strong community-oriented strategy set it above other crypto projects. Investing in the RXS presale offers a chance to get tokens before the price increases. To guarantee a safe transaction and avoid fraud, visit the official Rexas Finance page. Link your wallet—such as MetaMask or Trust Wallet—to the platform and buy RXS with defined tokens, such as Ethereum or USDT. Once purchased, keep your tokens in your wallet and monitor the presale stages to stay current on price adjustments and advancement. Rexas Finance (RXS) is a blockchain-based tool that can change the DeFi landscape and tokenize real estate and other tangible assets. Using modern technology, RXS allows clients to kenize assets and open, rapid, safe financial services. Given the estimated $280 trillion global real estate market, Rexas Finance's approach could create unheard-of liquidity and possibilities for institutional and regular investors. Rexas Finance presale trail soars from a Stage 1 of $0.030 to the stage 11 at $0.175. A study review indicates that price increase will be at a whopping 10,000%. The fact that it is destined to hit major exchanges in 2025 gives a reason for exponentially increased investment in RXS. It is now presale in its eleventh stage with tokens priced at $0.175. This phase, with nearly 380 million tokens sold out, reflects high investor confidence. Therefore, at this level, more than $33.1 million has been raised. Such levels of accomplishment emphasize the repute of the platform, as it gets listed on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko. The safety of the underlying architecture and smart contracts is assessed by Certik. Cardano (ADA): Peer-Reviewed Blockchain with Unique Potential The next altcoin which will easily touch the price of $12.50 before the Ripple would be Cardano (ADA). Cardano has been known for its environmentally friendly proof of stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, positioning it as a sustainable alternative to energy-hungry blockchains like Bitcoin. Cardano places the most important emphasis on scientific development and sustainability among the newer generations of blockchain systems. The use of the proof of stake approach in Cardano minimizes its carbon footprint by replacing a proof of work consensus technique used in Bitcoin. That is why it is the first choice for the environmentally conscious builders and investors. Cardano differs from others in that it focuses on the peer-reviewed research. Experts are scrutinizing all the technological developments under the belt to ensure that the platform keeps steady, safe, and flexible enough to solve new problems. This approach ensures that the blockchain has the longest lifetime, helping it be a solid site for long-term projects. While the price of Cardano currently stands at $0.89 at the time of writing, its analysts are quite optimistic for its price surge in the near future. Cardano will retain its edge over the Ethereum because it had embraced PoS in time and also boasts a very large ecosystem. People seeking long-term benefits find this project really interesting due to its stability and forward-looking appeal. On the contrary, Cardano proves technological supremacy via peer-reviewed innovation and a sustainable consensus mechanism. Its relatively low price of $0.89 offers a great starting point for investors trying to profit from the rising demand for scalable and environmentally friendly blockchain solutions. Conclusion With its price trajectory predicted to reach $12.50, Ripple (XRP) is well positioned for a significant surge. However, investors looking for high-growth prospects should attentively review Rexas Finance (RXS) and Cardano (ADA). Cardano's academic rigor and Rexas Finance's real estate tokenizing features offer unique value propositions that enhance XRP's qualities. Diversification is still essential as the crypto market develops; by including revolutionary altcoins like RXS and ADA in their portfolios, investors can maximize their chances of obtaining significant returns while helping projects that shape the future of decentralized finance and blockchain innovation. Website: https://rexas.com Win $1 Million Giveaway: https://bit.ly/Rexas1M Whitepaper: https://rexas.com/rexas-whitepaper.pdf Twitter/X: https://x.com/rexasfinance Telegram: https://t.me/rexasfinance Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp _____________ Disclaimer: Analytics Insight does not provide financial advice or guidance. Also note that the cryptocurrencies mentioned/listed on the website could potentially be scams, i.e. designed to induce you to invest financial resources that may be lost forever and not be recoverable once investments are made. You are responsible for conducting your own research (DYOR) before making any investments. Read more here.Appoints Scott Hudson as Vice President of Quality CALGARY, AB , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CoolIT Systems ( CoolIT ), the world's leader in liquid cooling systems for advanced computing, is continuing to invest in its manufacturing capabilities to support the surging demand for liquid cooling of AI systems. Along with a 25x capacity expansion in a new Calgary, Canada manufacturing facility, CoolIT recently hired Scott Hudson as Vice President of Quality to lead the company's development of world-class quality operations and systems. " As the leader in direct liquid cooling for over two decades, our customers expect leading performance and reliability from CoolIT products, " said CoolIT's COO Patrick McGinn . " Adding Scott as CoolIT's VP of Quality reinforces CoolIT's commitment to developing best-in-class quality standards for liquid cooling products. " Scott joins CoolIT from Celestica , where he led the company's global quality strategy for all business segments across over 30 sites. His career spans three decades of quality leadership roles in the worldwide computer hardware industry, overseeing multi-site operations in North America , Asia and Europe . " Ensuring the culture of quality permeates all aspects of our business and our relationships with suppliers, customers, and technology partners is central to my mission, as well as CoolIT's continued leadership in liquid cooling, " emphasized Scott. CoolIT's end-to-end direct liquid cooling products are essential to operating current and future generations of AI data centers. The company's investments in manufacturing support the rapid build-out of production capacity to support the world's top AI cloud service providers and leading semiconductor and server manufacturers. About CoolIT Systems CoolIT Systems specializes in scalable liquid cooling solutions for the world's most demanding computing environments. A 23-year pioneer in liquid cooling for microprocessors, CoolIT's technology cools over 5 million GPUs and CPUs globally. In the AI, high-performance computing and enterprise data center markets, CoolIT partners with global processor and server design leaders to develop the most efficient and reliable liquid cooling solutions for their leading-edge products. Through its modular direct liquid cooling (DLC) technology, CoolIT enables dramatic increases in rack densities, component performance and power efficiencies. CoolIT also provides system design, installation and maintenance services in over 70 countries worldwide. Together, CoolIT and its partners are leading the way for the widespread adoption of accelerated and advanced computing. For more information about CoolIT Systems and its technology, visit https://www.coolitsystems.com/ and follow @CoolIT Systems on LinkedIn. SOURCE CoolIT Systems Inc

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Expanded CFP field draws more bets and on more teamsST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Jason Zucker scored a tiebreaking power-play goal with 9:30 remaining and the Buffalo Sabres notched their third straight victory by beating the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Sunday. Jiri Kulich extended Buffalo's lead with a breakaway goal that went between Blues goalie Jordan Binnington's legs with 3:41 to play. Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist against his former team as the Sabres won in St. Louis for just the second time in 12 years to sweep the season series. Zucker had a goal and an assist, and Jack Quinn had two assists for Buffalo. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 35 shots. Brayden Schenn and Nathan Walker scored for the Blues. Binnington had 12 saves. Buffalo scored on two of its first three shots, including its first of the game. Takeaways Buffalo: After a 13-game losing streak (0-10-3), the Sabres have scored 17 goals while winning three straight. St. Louis: The Blues, who are tied for an NHL-low five power-play goals at home, went 0 for 4 with the man advantage. Key moment After Walker pulled the Blues even with 14:04 left in the game, rookie Zack Bolduc took a cross checking penalty midway through the third period that led to the decisive goal. Key stat The Sabres had scored on only six of 43 road power plays (14%) this season before going 2 for 3 on Sunday. Buffalo ranked 27th out of 32 NHL teams. Up next The Blues play Chicago in the Winter Classic on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. Buffalo will play at Dallas on Tuesday night.

‘The original centrist’: France’s new prime minister seizes his momentExpert View: The Indian stock market 's performance in 2024 was notably positive, with the domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 logging gains of nearly nine per cent each. Nifty 50 crossed its milestone from 22,000 to 26,000 in a relatively short period. However, the second half of the year was met with significant volatility amid both domestic and global triggers. Several triggers, including new global trade patterns, higher tariffs, and shifts in domestic monetary policy, are expected to impact stock market sentiment in the coming year. These factors will likely create a dynamic environment, offering investors both opportunities and challenges in 2025. Also Read: ICICI Bank, L&T to Mastek: SMC Global Securities suggests THESE 10 stocks to buy for long-term with 15-30% upside Before the Indian stock market enters the new year 2025, Dr Mohit Batra, Founder of MarketsMojo , said in an interview with Mint's Nikita Prasad that 2025 would likely present a more challenging investment landscape and that investors must adopt a long-term perspective amid bouts of volatility. The D-Street expert believes the BFSI sector's valuation is attractive and will likely pave the way for greater inflows, particularly in private banks. Edited excerpts from the interview: 1. How do you view the Indian stock market's performance in 2024? What are the key triggers that will impact the Indian stock market in 2025? In 2024, the defining factor for the Indian equity market was the resilience of retail investors. Unlike in previous years, retail participants displayed a commendable maturity by leveraging volatility as an opportunity rather than a deterrent. Retail investors deployed record-high funds into equities, surpassing the previous peak in 2021 and consistent SIP inflows into mutual funds. This reflects an evolving understanding of equity markets as a critical tool for long-term wealth creation. Despite muted foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflows, the robust participation of retail investors provided significant support, mitigating the impact of weak FPI activity. Also Read: Tech giants Nvidia, Tesla emerge top US-listed stock picks by Indians in 2024; ETFs gain momentum Looking ahead to 2025, several challenges warrant attention. Key among these are potential policy shifts in the US following Donald Trump's inauguration in January. India's economic growth has softened over the first two quarters of the current fiscal year , with GDP numbers for the December quarter also expected to remain underwhelming. Reviving growth will necessitate decisive policy action from the government, making such reforms a crucial market trigger. Additionally, food inflation is emerging as a significant concern for central banks globally. Elevated food prices could influence interest rate cycles, delaying expected rate cuts. Another critical factor is the potential rate hike from the Bank of Japan , which, if realised, could disrupt global capital flows, impacting market sentiment. These triggers underscore the importance of strategic and adaptive market navigation in the coming year. 2. Which sectors are poised for high growth potential in 2025? Should investors focus on domestic cyclicals amid a slowdown in GDP? We anticipate that the government will prioritise infrastructure spending in 2025, especially given the relatively restrained spending in 2024. This renewed focus should significantly benefit sectors associated with infrastructure development. Private sector banks are also poised for a strong rebound. Following two years of underperformance, their attractive valuations position them as potential outperformers in 2025. Also Read: Indian pharma sector to grow 9-11% in FY26: From Lupin to Max Healthcare—Top 5 stock picks by Motilal Oswal for 2025 As a contrarian play, we see value in the FMCG sector. Despite facing multiple headwinds in recent years, the sector appears to have weathered the worst. A revival in urban demand is expected, coupled with margin expansion for FMCG companies, which could drive strong performance in the year ahead. Collectively, these sectors present compelling opportunities for investors seeking growth amid economic uncertainties. 3. How will US President-elect Donald Trump's administration impact the US and the Indian stock market? Should we be worried about FPI outflows? The impact of Donald Trump's administration will largely depend on the policies implemented, particularly regarding tariffs and trade agreements. While some campaign promises may translate into actionable policies, others could serve as negotiating tactics rather than hardline measures. FPI flows into India were subdued in 2024, following record inflows in 2023. However, we anticipate a shift in 2025, with the US market likely to underperform, potentially redirecting flows to emerging markets like India. This could result in FPI inflows of ₹ 75,000 crore to ₹ 1 lakh crore for the year. Additionally, many FPIs remain underweight on Indian equities, a positioning that we expect will be corrected in 2025, further supporting FPIs flows. Also Read: India’s high-frequency indicators recovering in Q3, to lift GDP in H2: RBI December Bulletin 4. What are your top stock picks for 2025, especially from the IT and BFSI pack? Will IT stocks generate high returns with the US Fed's hawkish stance? We currently favour a greater allocation to the BFSI sector between IT and BFSI. After underperforming in the last two years' market rallies, BFSI valuations have become attractive , paving the way for increased inflows, particularly in private sector banks. The anticipated rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2025 will further enhance the sector's appeal. The upcoming Union Budget will likely announce measures to boost private capital expenditure, which could drive growth in banks' corporate loan books. 5. What should be the trading strategy for retail investors in 2025 in case of volatility? Where do you see Sensex and Nifty reaching by the end of 2025? The market in 2025 is expected to be more selective, with specific sectors driving performance instead of a broad-based rally . This environment will require investors to adopt a disciplined stock selection and risk management approach. Unlike the relatively straightforward gains seen in 2023 and 2024, the coming year will likely present a more challenging investment landscape. India remains well-positioned to be one of the top-performing markets globally over the next decade. Retail investors should adopt a long-term perspective, ideally a five-year or more horizon, to ride out short-term volatility. Every market correction should be viewed as an opportunity to increase equity allocation, reinforcing the principles of disciplined investing (not trading) for sustained wealth creation. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations provided in this analysis are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We strongly advise investors to consult with certified experts, consider individual risk tolerance, and conduct thorough research before making investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly, and individual circumstances may vary.Even though San Francisco voters handed Democratic Mayor London Breed a huge defeat in November, she insists she's going out a champion. “No matter what the results said, I’m still a winner,” Breed said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times this week. “The fact that I have come out of the most problematic circumstances of San Francisco to be mayor, and I’m here, and I have been able to serve, it is an absolute privilege.” It's a peculiar take from the mayor who spent the past six years pitching progressive ideas, only to do a 180-degree turn in the final months of the election and embrace a tough-on-crime and homelessness stance. For voters, it was too little, too late. Billionaire heir Daniel Lurie defeated Breed and a crowded field of rivals last month to win the San Francisco mayoral race, earning his first term leading California’s fourth-largest city. Lurie was able to tap into voter disillusionment over brazen retail theft, crime, open-air drug dens, and homeless encampments that made residents fearful and businesses flee. San Francisco also became a verbal punching bag for conservative pundits and President-elect Donald Trump. The election was a sobering moment for Breed, a local who was raised in poverty by her grandmother in one of the city's toughest neighborhoods. Breed made history in June 2018 when she won a special election as the city's first black female mayor after the death of Mayor Ed Lee. Her time in office was undoubtedly difficult and marred by scandal. "I had to deal with crisis after crisis after crisis," she said. Breed was tasked with getting the city through the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing with a surge of drug overdose deaths, rampant homelessness, untreated mental illness, the racial justice protests of 2020, a rise in retail theft, and the collapse of the downtown area's economy. Susie Tompkins Buell, a prominent Democratic donor and Breed supporter, told the newspaper that the mayor deserved more credit for getting the city through tough times. “I think she handled some serious problems very well, and I think there were new problems, problems we had never experienced before,” Tompkins Buell said. Breed was one of the first large-city mayors in the country to declare a state of emergency during the pandemic, something that was credited with saving countless lives. “Nobody knew what to do, and everyone was scared and trying to do the right thing, and be bold and careful at the same time,” Tompkins Buell said. “I know she gave it her all.” Despite some early wins for Breed, San Franciscans ultimately went in another direction on election night. Breed believes part of that was due to Lurie's deep campaign coffers. “It just was definitely very challenging to run the city, which is the priority, and then try to run a campaign against the kind of financial resources that were coming at me from a lot of different places,” she said. Lurie comes from one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the city. His mother was married to Peter Haas, an heir to the founder of the Levi's brand. Haas has since died, and Lurie and his mother are among his primary heirs. Lurie spent nearly $9 million on his own campaign. His mother threw in another $1 million to an independent expenditure committee backing her son's bid. Lurie also got big cash infusions from wealthy friends and friendly tech titans. Breed's belief she lost the race simply because she was outspent doesn't necessarily jibe with other people's account of it. Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who ran against her for mayor, said Breed's pivot to conservative policies cost her support from the progressive voters who championed her in the past. “She had alienated herself from liberal San Francisco along the way,” Peskin said. “And they abandoned her.” He also said Breed made enemies along the way. “It was kind of her way or the highway," he added. "And politics is the business of negotiating a compromise, which she did splendidly during COVID. But that was not everybody’s experience before COVID or after COVID, and that came back and bit her.” James Taylor, a professor of political science at the University of San Francisco, said Breed's tenure was marked with problems of her own making, including multiple scandals with city contracts. The San Francisco Standard reported that the head of the city's Human Rights Commission funneled more than $1 million in contracts to a nonprofit organization led by a man Breed was living with and that Breed had never disclosed the relationship. That investigation led to questions about mismanaged city funds in the Dream Keeper Initiative, one of Breed's signature programs. The Dream Keeper Initiative was supposed to inject up to $60 million a year into nonprofit groups and other organizations aimed at helping the city’s black community. The program was supposed to be a shining example of how the city was giving back to residents. Instead, it became a powerful example of wasteful spending, greed, and corruption. In the wake of the scandal, Taylor said that many of the city's black residents felt that the change Breed promised she would usher in was all talk. “In other words, London Breed’s demise was self-inflicted,” he said. “The way this plane crashed, everything around it was destroyed.” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER As for future plans, Breed said she hasn't had much time to focus on what she'll do after Lurie takes over. “I don’t have no rich mama with money,” she said, laughing. “I got to go make my own money.”LAS VEGAS — If Texas coach Steve Sarkisian holds aloft the College Football Playoff trophy next month, that will be bad news for BetMGM Sportsbook. It would be similarly disappointing if any of the coaches at Boise State, Indiana or Arizona State end up celebrating a title with confetti falling all around them inside Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Wait, what? Texas has attracted a lot of money all season to go all the way, but those other schools provide the hope of a big payoff. The fifth-seeded Longhorns are the co-favorite at BetMGM with No. 1 and unbeaten Oregon at 7-2 odds; the other three are least 40-1, while Georgia is right behind Oregon and Texas as the next favorite. "These teams get hot and people just want to have a flyer on them," BetMGM trading manager Seamus Magee said. "They don't want to be standing there and not have a ticket on some of these long-shot teams." People are also reading... Expanding the playoff field from four to 12 teams this year meant more betting in general on college football and more varieties of wagering on the postseason. There were meaningful games played in the final month by not only Arizona State, Boise State and Indiana, but also SMU, Army and UNLV — a number of teams not always in the national title conversation. "It's one of the highest handles we've ever had on our national-championship market," Magee said. "We're in more states, for one, but the activity and the betting patterns we're seeing, it definitely feels a lot more than it has in years past." Riding with the Mustangs Magee said BetMGM has received action on both sides of the first-round game between 11th-seeded SMU and sixth-seeded Penn State, but the Mustangs have drawn notable action at DraftKings and Caesars Sportsbook. Money on SMU dropped Penn State from a 9-point favorite at DraftKings to 8 1/2. "Any time they've played a real good team, they've had trouble," Johnny Avello, DraftKings race and sports operations director, said of the Nittany Lions. "SMU shows that they're pretty good on both sides of the football and pretty resilient as a team. Always in the game. Always finds ways to fight back." Joey Feazel, who oversees football trading for Caesars, said much of the early betting in general was on underdogs. "Usually, you see the dog money for these teams come late, especially on the sharps' (professional bettors) side," Feazel said. Little love for the Broncos Boise State, which as the third seed has a first-round bye, will be the underdog in its quarterfinal matchup with Penn State or SMU. The Broncos got into the field as the highest-ranked Group of Five champion, but Avello said that doesn't mean they are one of the nation's top 12 teams (they are ranked No. 8 by AP and No. 9 by CFP). Avello said BYU, Colorado and Miami — none of which made the playoff — all would be favored over them. "There are a lot of teams that aren't in the playoffs that would be favored," Avello said. "That's just not the way these playoffs work." Feazel said Boise State not being able to play at home on its blue carpet will be a notable disadvantage. Boise State's quarterfinal game will be at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. "It will be all neutral," Feazel said. "It's a big step up in class for Boise." How's the weather up there? Instead of all the games being played in climate-controlled domes or warm-weather locales — as has been in the case in past postseasons — three of the four first-round matchups will take place in the Northeast and Midwest. While that might not make a difference when Notre Dame hosts in-state foe Indiana, Ohio State will be at home against Tennessee and SMU visits Penn State. BetMGM favors all four home teams by more than a touchdown. "You have to take the weather into account for some of these games," Magee said. "It's going to be really cool to see a team like Tennessee that will have to go up to Columbus, where it can get really cold. SMU has to go from Dallas to Happy Valley. That's definitely going to be one of the coldest games a lot of those kids have played in their lives." Hypothetical matchup SMU was the last team in the field, getting the benefit of the doubt over Alabama. The Mustangs had one fewer defeat than the three-loss Crimson Tide, who did not appear in the SEC title game. SMU lost on a 56-yard field goal to Clemson in the ACC championship. The sportsbook operators said the Tide would be favored by 5-10 points if they met SMU on a neutral field. Be the first to know

Mavericks hit year-end turbulence with Luka Doncic out with calf strainExpanded CFP field draws more bets and on more teams

‘Oh, Canada’ review: Richard Gere shows the price of a lifetime of deceptionThe King is scheduled to attend the show at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Friday which will see Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish present a musical number from their new show The Devil Wears Prada – based on the 2006 Oscar-nominated film. Cast members Vanessa Williams, who plays Miranda Priestly, and Matt Henry, who stars as art director Nigel, were among those posing on the red carpet ahead of the performance which showcases an original score by Sir Elton. The variety show will also see debuts from British singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor with her hit track Murder On The Dancefloor while Eurovision winner Nemo is also featured on the bill. Also posing on the carpet were US magicians and comedy duo Penn and Teller, whose performance marks their 50th anniversary. Comedy will come from Ted Lasso star Ellie Taylor, writer and comic Scott Bennett, Scottish comedian Larry Dean and political comic Matt Forde – who posed on the red carpet with a crutch after undergoing surgery for cancer on his spine. Among the arrivals was TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, who will make an appearance in this year’s show with her Change And Check Choir led by Wet Wet Wet singer Marti Pellow. The choir, made up of women from across the UK who detected their breast cancer through Kelly’s campaign, will perform Love Is All Around, which is being re-released to raise awareness of breast cancer early detection. It comes hours after Camilla insisted the “show must go on” after pulling out of attending the performance on Friday evening as doctors advised that she should prioritise rest. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “Following a recent chest infection, the Queen continues to experience some lingering post-viral symptoms, as a result of which doctors have advised that, after a busy week of engagements, Her Majesty should prioritise sufficient rest. “With great regret, she has therefore withdrawn from attendance at tonight’s Royal Variety Performance. His Majesty will attend as planned.” A royal source said the Queen was “naturally disappointed to miss the evening’s entertainments and sends her sincere apologies to all those involved, but is a great believer that ‘the show must go on'”. “She hopes to be back to full strength and regular public duties very soon,” the source added. The Royal Variety Performance will air on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player in December. Money raised from the show will go to help people from the world of entertainment in need of care and assistance, with the Royal Variety Charity launching an initiative to help those with mental health issues this year.

Tiny robot from Amazon will be your child's cool but sometimes annoying friendBitcoin deserves a spot in traditional multi-asset portfolios for interested investors, but only to a "reasonable" extent, BlackRock said on Thursday. The world's largest asset manager said that investors interested in bitcoin should allocate 1%-2% of their portfolio toward the cryptocurrency. Such weighting would result in a similar level of risk to holding the Magnificent Seven mega-cap stocks in a traditional portfolio. "In a traditional portfolio with a mix of 60% stocks and 40% bonds, those seven stocks each account for, on average, about the same share of overall portfolio risk as a 1-2% allocation to bitcoin," analysts in a recent research note from Blackrock Investment Institute. "We think that's a reasonable range for a bitcoin exposure," they added. A share over 2%, though, would make the risk associated with the crypto much higher, it added. "Going beyond that would sharply increase bitcoin's share of the overall portfolio risk," the analysts said. The firm said that the framework is helpful for considering the potential risks of including bitcoin in a portfolio given its reputation for volatility. The cryptocurrency has soared in recent weeks, up 48% since Donald Trump won the US presidential election last month/ Trump has since picked several crypto supporters for posts in his administration, including Paul Atkins as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. That announcement last week helped push bitcoin above the key threshold for the first time ever. The cryptocurrency has gained about 136% this yea. "On top of having over time, bitcoin has also suffered sharp selloffs. In an extreme case, should there no longer be any prospect of broad bitcoin adoption, the loss could be the entire 1-2% allocation," they said. However, the analysts said allocating up to 2% to bitcoin would provide a diverse source of risk compared to pouring into mega-cap tech stocks while still managing risk exposure. "Even though bitcoin's correlation to other assets is relatively low, it's more volatile, making its effect on total risk contribution similar overall. A bitcoin allocation would have the advantage of providing a diverse source of risk, while an overweight to the magnificent 7 would add to existing risk and to portfolio concentration," the analysts said. They added that wider adoption and trading of the cryptocurrency could reduce its volatility, bringing down its share of portfolio risk and potentially allowing investors to increase their allocation. On the flip side, broader adoption could also mean it loses the structural catalyst for , they said. "The case for a permanent holding may then be less clear-cut and investors may prefer to use it tactically to hedge against specific risks, similar to gold," they said. Broader adoption and trading appear likely, given easier avenues for gaining exposure to bitcoin, like the dozen spot bitcoin ETFs from firms including BlackRock. Since they were launched in January, the ETFs have garnered over $113 billion in assets. Read the original article onWoman's potato storage hack will 'change your life' - and you'll only need one fruit

By Amanda Hernández, Stateline.org (TNS) The outcomes of seven ballot measures in Arizona, California and Colorado reflect the stricter approach to crime that’s been seen across much of the country recently, with voters and policymakers driven by concerns over rising retail theft, homelessness, fentanyl misuse and challenges in police recruitment and retention. Voters have decided in recent years that they prefer to adopt progressive changes to the criminal justice system “somewhat less aggressively,” said Dan Schnur, a former Republican strategist and a political communications professor at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley. “Voters are always course correctors. They’re always adjusting and readjusting, trying to calibrate policy exactly the way they want it,” Schnur said. “It’s not uncommon for them to try to pull back on a reform effort that they think might be going too far.” This year, local and state leaders in blue and red states — including California, Georgia, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont — shifted away from more liberal initiatives aimed at reining in police powers and reimagining criminal legal systems. They have instead embraced harsher penalties for offenses such as retail theft and possession or distribution of certain hard drugs, added more felony and misdemeanor offenses requiring cash bail, and moved to prohibit local governments from altering police traffic stop policies. Then this month, voters in Arizona, California and Colorado overwhelmingly backed ballot measures to increase prison time for certain crimes, revoke bail for others and crack down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking. While national crime data is notoriously difficult to track and understand, violent crime and property crime across the United States decreased in 2023, continuing a downward trend since the higher crime rates of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the FBI’s latest national crime report. Still, some individual cities and neighborhoods might be seeing higher crime rates, which could explain Americans’ views on the issue. Opinions on crime in the United States have improved over the past year, according to Gallup’s annual crime survey . Fewer people compared with last year believe national crime has increased or consider crime an “extremely” or “very” serious problem — but a majority of U.S. adults, 56%, still do. Perceptions are heavily influenced by political affiliation, the survey showed. While 60% of Democrats believe crime has gone down over the past year, 90% of Republicans think it has increased. In California, voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36, a measure that increases penalties for specific drug-related and theft crimes and that also reclassifies certain drug offenses as “treatment-mandated felonies.” This reclassification will allow judges to impose mental health or drug treatment requirements. Those who complete treatment would have their charges dismissed, while those who fail to meet the requirements could face up to three years in prison. “It’s not the hope or the intention to send a bunch of people to jail or prison who are using drugs. The goal is to incentivize people to engage in treatment again,” said Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, one of the measure’s authors, in an interview with Stateline. The measure aims to address issues such as retail theft, homelessness, substance use disorders and fentanyl distribution, Reisig said. Under the new law, people convicted of theft at least twice may face felony charges on their third offense, regardless of the stolen item’s value. Additionally, those caught distributing fentanyl while armed with a loaded firearm will now face felony charges and up to four years in prison. Previously, possessing fentanyl and a loaded firearm was punishable by up to one year in jail. “Our strong belief is that this will send a deterrent message to others that there are consequences again,” Reisig said. The measure also received substantial support from law enforcement agencies across the state, although it remains unclear how departments might adjust their enforcement policies. Still, Reisig said, the measure will provide law enforcement with “some real, meaningful tools” to address specific crimes. “With options for increased sentencing and mandated treatment, Prop. 36 could provide tools to address repeat offenses more effectively,” Sacramento Police spokesperson Sgt. Dan Wiseman wrote in an email to Stateline. Proposition 36 partially reverses some changes made in 2014 by another ballot measure, Proposition 47, that reduced certain theft and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors to address prison overcrowding. But Reisig said that this is not a complete rollback. “It was drafted to be more down the middle and just kind of bring the pendulum back to center mass,” he said. “We’re not reinventing the wheel. We’re just bringing back something that had proven success, and I think all of California is going to benefit.” But some Democrats and criminal justice advocacy groups have argued that the measure could reintroduce drug war policies and result in longer prison sentences. California voters also rejected Proposition 6 by a close margin, 53%-47%. The measure would have amended the state constitution to prohibit forcing inmates into labor as punishment. The proposal originated from a state task force examining whether California should provide reparations to Black residents. In contrast, voters in more conservative states such as Alabama and Tennessee have approved measures in recent elections to abolish involuntary servitude in their prisons. In a similar effort, Nevada voters this year approved a measure repealing constitutional language that permitted slavery and involuntary servitude as forms of criminal punishment. Schnur said Proposition 6 could have been rejected in part because California voters might have carried anti-criminal sentiment over from one ballot measure to the other. “Because Prop 36 passed by such a large margin, it’s entirely possible that many voters were already thinking in a more restrictive way about criminal justice policy, and those feelings may have moved over into their vote against Prop 6,” Schnur said. In Colorado, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment put on the ballot by the state legislature that makes first-degree murder suspects ineligible for bail if prosecutors can demonstrate a strong enough case. Previously, the state constitution allowed only people charged with “capital offenses” to be denied bail. This change restores bail policies that were in place before Colorado repealed the death penalty in 2020. Voters also backed a pair of measures placed on the ballot through a signature-gathering campaign led by Advance Colorado, a conservative political group. One measure requires people convicted of certain violent crimes, including second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and sexual assault, to serve at least 85% of their sentence — up from the previous 75% — before becoming eligible for parole. The other ballot measure directs the legislature to allocate $350 million from the state’s general fund to help local law enforcement agencies hire additional officers, provide training and bonus pay, and establish a $1 million death benefit for the families of first responders — including police, firefighters and EMTs — killed in the line of duty. The approval of that measure could deepen Colorado’s $1 billion budget deficit , though the financial impact will depend on how quickly lawmakers implement the program. Since the measure does not specify a timeline, legislators may choose to allocate the funds gradually rather than all at once in the next budget year, according to Kristi Burton Brown, Advance Colorado’s executive vice president. Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed two criminal justice measures this year: One mandates life imprisonment for people convicted of child sex trafficking; the other goes after both illegal immigration and the sale of fentanyl not made in the United States. Proposition 314 grants law enforcement the authority to arrest noncitizens who do not have legal authorization to enter or live in the United States. The law specifically targets people attempting to enter or who have entered Arizona outside official ports of entry. This measure expands police powers to address illegal immigration at the state level. Under Proposition 314, unauthorized entry into Arizona will become a Class 1 misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses. The measure also allows state judges to order deportations. However, portions of the law cannot take effect until a court — likely the U.S. Supreme Court — rules on the constitutionality of a similar law in Texas. If the Texas law is upheld and remains enforceable for at least 60 days, Arizona’s law could then go into effect. The law now is awaiting an appeals court decision, which is expected to itself be appealed to the Supreme Court no matter the ruling. And the measure adds a new state felony penalty for selling fentanyl manufactured outside the country that results in another person’s death. Some critics argue that it could lead to racial profiling and heightened community tensions, while supporters claim it will bolster border security and reduce crimes linked to illegal immigration. Immigration enforcement is usually a federal responsibility, and some critics also have raised concerns about the additional financial and operational burden local law enforcement agencies may face. Some local police departments contacted by Stateline were unsure of how the measure would be enforced, noting that they are waiting for further direction from state officials. The Phoenix Police Department said in an email to Stateline that it would continue its current enforcement practices, which prohibit officers from asking about immigration status during traffic stops unless required by state law and consensual contacts with the public, according to department spokesperson Sgt. Mayra Reeson. Under existing policies, Phoenix officers may only transport people to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they are wanted for a criminal immigration violation and have no pending state criminal charges, or if the person has only a civil immigration violation, which includes being in the country without legal authorization, and consents to the transport. The ACLU of Arizona has vowed to explore all options to block the implementation of Proposition 314, calling it unconstitutional and harmful. ©2024 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

WASHINGTON — The federal government spent up to $267 million of your money to study and counteract so-called “misinformation” since President Biden took office in January 2021 — as President-elect Donald Trump vows to bar official use of the term . The funds doled out to universities, nonprofits and private companies spiked from $2.2 million in 2020, the final full year of Trump’s first term, to a staggering $126 million in 2021 before tapering off — even as leading US public health officials were imposing mandates they later admitted had no scientific basis — the taxpayer-transparency group OpenTheBooks said in a report released Friday. The findings were released by the group, which was founded by Republican budget hawks, as Trump’s Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) looks for areas to trim wasteful spending, and after Trump himself pledged to ax the terms “misinformation” and “disinformation” from the federal lexicon. OpenTheBooks does not account for the cost of in-house efforts by the Biden White House and various executive branch agencies to fight purportedly incorrect speech, including by pressuring social media companies to censor content. Proponents of fighting alleged “misinformation” argue that it’s in the public’s interest to weed out incorrect claims — with Biden personally accusing social media companies of “killing people” by platforming posts critiquing the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, as anti-“misinformation” spending surged. Opponents of speech-policing argue it both violates the First Amendment and prevents vigorous debate and competing narratives that allow for a more full understanding of issues of public concern. Critics also note that much of what is initially deemed “misinformation” later turns out to either gain broad evidentiary support or outright confirmation, such as the theory that COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab that was doing risky US-funded “gain of function” research. Another example is the fact that mandated masks, vaccination, social distancing and economic shutdowns were largely ineffective due to evolving COVID variants or significant side-effects and unintended social consequences. At the same time, the Biden administration was colluding with big tech platforms to police Americans’ free speech online — leaning on Facebook, Twitter and other sites to yank even light-hearted or satirical posts about the pandemic . Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg issued a belated mea culpa in August 2024, telling House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in a letter that “senior Biden administration officials, including the White House, repeatedly pressured” his company to wrongly “censor” COVID content. Some government diktats, such as the requirement that people remain six feet apart, actually had no specific evidentiary justification, former federal infectious disease chief Dr. Anthony Fauci later admitted. More than two-thirds of the “misinformation” research grants flowed from the Department of Health and Human Service and focused primarily on COVID-19, but also touched on other areas such as climate change. Other big spenders included the National Science Foundation ($65 million), the State Department ($12 million), the Pentagon ($2.9 million) and the Justice Department ($1.7 million). Universities reaped COVID windfall The OpenTheBooks report includes links to federal grant award documents that includes the term “misinformation” and found that major universities raked in millions, particularly by focusing on COVID-19-related issues such as vaccine hesitancy. “Federal spending records show at least $127 million tax dollars funding anti-misinformation efforts directly related to COVID-19 for a variety of activities,” the report read, “from on-the-ground advocacy working to dispel vaccine misinformation, to scientific studies on how supposed “misinformation” is spread online.” The top identified recipient was the City University of New York, which received more than $3.6 million, including nearly $3.3 million from the Department of Health and Human Services for research beginning in September 2022 on how people with mental health disorders can be steeled against “misinformation” with “online attitudinal inoculation.” “Informed by inoculation theory, attitudinal inoculation leverages the power of narrative, values and emotion to strengthen resistance to misinformation and reduce hesitancy and is well-suited for low-information audiences and ideologically polarized or conspiratorial groups,” read’s CUNY’s description of the project, due to end in August 2025. “The proposed research project will leverage the infrastructure of ... a large and geographically diverse community-based US cohort, to tailor and test the effectiveness of a brief digital attitudinal inoculation intervention to increase vaccination among adults with anxiety or depression symptoms.” An additional $328,000 went to CUNY in August 2022 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study how alleged “misinformation,” including about climate change and COVID-19, spreads on social media. “Understanding how information flows and its impact on human behavior is important for determining how to protect society from the effects of misinformation, propaganda and fake news,” reads the description of the research, due to end in July 2025. “The research has two main goals: First, it will spot and predict opinion trends and identify users’ polarization on topics of broad interest to society (eg, climate change or the COVID-19 pandemic). Second, it will track information propagation to understand its role in shaping opinion trends and identify the factors that are important for its spread and adoption.” The NSF also handed over $5 million to George Washington University to focus on “misinformation” aimed “at members of expert communities” including “misinformation-driven harassment campaigns [that] have particularly large impacts on those at the forefront of efforts to accurately inform the public, including journalists, scientists, and public health officials.” AnotherNSF grant, of $14 million, went to the University of Michigan for an “American National Elections Study” that homed in on “the spread of misinformation, support for political violence, affective polarization, racial conflict, and threats to the legitimacy of our electoral institutions.” The University of Pennsylvania was awarded more than $2.3 million in September 2022 for “investigating and identifying the heterogeneity in COVID-19 misinformation exposure on social media among black and rural communities to inform precision public health messaging.” That research, running through 2027 seeks to “develop strategies to detect trusted and accurate ‘signals’ amidst dynamic misinformation ‘noise.'” The cash windfall for “misinfo” experts came as leading US public health officials were spreading false narratives of their own. Fauci, now retired, admitted to a House committee earlier this year that COVID-era restrictions like maintaining six feet of distance and masking young children lacked any scientific basis. “It sort of just appeared. I don’t recall,” Fauci said in a January transcribed interview with the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic about the social distancing mandate imposed on federal agencies, businesses and schools. “Just an empiric decision that wasn’t based on data or even data that could be accomplished.” “At the time, 4,000, 5,000 people a day were dying,” Fauci said in a June hearing before the same committee about masking mandates, before admitting: “There was no study that did masks on kids.” Librarian escape room, ‘slandering’ Trump One way the government fought “misinformation” was through funding an online “escape room” run by librarians, according to the federal records. The University of Washington was awarded a $249,691 grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services in September 2021 to “deploy a tested escape room prototype in 10 public libraries” and to “co-design camps around Black Lives Matter and fandom to demonstrate use of the design kit for creating interest-driven escape rooms.” “By building and deploying an online escape room hosted by librarians, the grant will improve libraries’ capabilities to address misinformation through innovative educational programming,” the description says. At least one of the grants focused specifically on how Trump — who controversially promoted use of the drug hydroxychloroquine during the pandemic and rarely wore a mask, while saying others were free to do so — allegedly fueled distrust “thus making [people] more vulnerable to misinformation generally.” George Washington University received a $199,516 NSF grant in May 2022 for a two-year project “to study how populist politicians distorted COVID-19 pandemic health communication to encourage polarized attitudes and distrust among citizens, thus making them more vulnerable to misinformation generally.” The proposal says “focus is on four countries — Brazil, Poland, Serbia and the US — all led by populist leaders during the pandemic.” OpentheBooks derided that expenditure as a “brazen instance” of spending being used for “slandering” Trump. Other major university recipients of funds included Wake Forest University, which received more than $2.8 million, and the University of Texas, which got nearly $2.2 million. Defense and tech industry also among recipients An array of companies also received federal grants for “misinformation” projects. The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $300,000 to Melax Technologies for “real-time surveillance of vaccine misinformation from social media platforms using ontology and natural language processing technologies.” HHS granted $299,964 to Gryphon Scientific for “systematic understanding and elimination of misinformation online.” And the Department of Homeland Security awarded $1,205,826 via the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to defense contractor Guidehouse from 2023 to 2024 for “misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation analysis.” Guidehouse had previously produced a report that touched upon “the public’s perception of [FEMA’s role in the COVID-19 crisis.” The technology not-for-profit Meedan received an award for $5.7 million from the National Science Foundation in September 2021 for a three-year project titled, “Fact champ fact-checker, academic and community collaboration tools, combating hate, abuse and misinformation with minority-led partnerships.” Trump team looks to trim Trump announced shortly after his Nov. 5 election victory that Musk, the billionaire owner of X and chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, would lead an extra-governmental effort to identify cost savings — after the president-elect himself vowed to dismantle federal efforts to police alleged “misinformation” in his second term. It’s unclear how much of the pending grant money could be clawed back — and grants already were tapering downward after peaking in 2021, with just $18.4 million in new “misinformation”-related awards identified in 2024. In a policy video released shortly after launching his campaign in November 2022, Trump said, “The censorship cartel must be dismantled and destroyed — and it must happen immediately.” “Within hours of my inauguration, I will sign an executive order banning any federal department or agency from colluding with any organization, business, or person, to censor, limit, categorize, or impede the lawful speech of American citizens,” Trump said . “I will then ban federal money from being used to label domestic speech as ‘mis-‘ or ‘dis-information’. And I will begin the process of identifying and firing every federal bureaucrat who has engaged in domestic censorship — directly or indirectly — whether they are the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI, the DOJ, no matter who they are.”