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Remember high school English class reading assignments? Sometimes those dense classics were even enough to make the booklovers in the classroom groan. But every now and then, an assigned reading would come along and truly stick with us. For many, “1984” by George Orwell is one of those books. Its impact on science-fiction and pop culture is far-reaching. “Big Brother,” “Thought Police” and even “ ” are household terms because of “1984.” And in 2017, after former advisor used the phrase “alternative facts.” “1984” is set in the totalitarian state of Oceania, where war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength. Citizens are kept closely in line by the ruling Party, which is controlled by an ominous figure known as Big Brother. Big Brother is always watching – your language, your actions and even your thoughts. Rebellious thinking is an act of “thoughtcrime,” which carries a fatal punishment. If you’ve devoured Orwell’s cautionary tale and want more, here are 10 more books with dystopian themes to read next. is a feminist retelling of “1984” from Julia's perspective. The counterpart to Orwell’s protagonist, “The Sisterhood” gives Julia a voice of her own and explores the secrets she’s been harboring. Though she appears the picture of a dutiful woman, she’s part of a secret underground movement called The Sisterhood, which helps identify members of the vigilante group The Brotherhood to overthrow the Party and Big Brother. Eerily, this book is world ravaged by drugs, disease, war and drought. Lauren Olamina is a preacher’s daughter who lives in one of the only remaining safe neighborhoods outside of Los Angeles. She struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that leaves her extraordinarily sensitive to others’ pain. When a fire kills her family, Lauren is thrust into the open and dangerous world. On the run, her fight for safety may be the catalyst for change needed to save humankind. This dystopian sci-fi novel is about a roaming troupe of actors traversing the Great Lakes region, performing Shakespeare and music for the scattered communities that remain 15 years after a pandemic decimated most of the world’s population. But the Traveling Symphony runs into trouble when they arrive at St. Deborah by the Water and encounter a dangerous and violent prophet who threatens their existence. parallels the “before” and “after” of a pandemic-ridden society, weaving threads of fate, hope and disaster amid the apocalypse. This takes place on an island wrestling with the increasing disappearance of everyday objects and animals. Birds, hats, ribbons, roses and other items are going missing, and only some have the power to remember what’s been lost. The Memory Police, a draconian, fear-inspiring squad, ensure these items remain forever forgotten. This story follows a young novelist devising a plan to hide her editor from the clutches of the Memory Police. In this Kathy, Ruth and Tommy grow up as students of Hailsham, an English countryside boarding school. The students of Hailsham are well-educated and prolific in art and literature but know nothing of the outside world. When the trio leaves the school grounds for the first time, they begin to uncover the mystery of what Hailsham is really training them for. Said to have inspired Orwell’s “1984,” in the early 1920s. It became the – the author sent a copy abroad just before it was outlawed, allowing the book to be published in English in 1924. “We” is set 1,000 years in the future in a technologically advanced totalitarian society called One State, devoid of uniqueness and creativity. The novel follows one of the many number-named citizens, D-503, a space engineer who realizes he has an individual soul. In the authoritarian, technologically advanced society of humans are genetically bred and children are indoctrinated to maintain a predetermined intelligence-based hierarchy. In the “World State,” mass production, homogeneity and quick consumption, the principles of Henry Ford’s assembly line, are revered. Our protagonist, Bernard Marx, is a sleep psychologist and an Alpha, a member of the upper class of society. After the Second American Civil War came the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enslaves fertile women as Handmaids to produce children for wealthy families. Offred, whose given name signifies that she belongs to a Gilead commander named Fred, lost her husband, child, name and freedom in the uprising. is the story of her memories and new imprisonment, grasping to hope and the will to survive. This is set on the moon settlement of Anarres, an anarchic utopia with no government. Anarres is isolated from all other worlds, including its mother planet Urras, home to wars, poverty and extreme wealth. Physicist Shevek is a resident of Anarres, but he’s determined to unite the two worlds. But to make the ambitious, unprecedented trip to Urras, Shevek will have to leave his family, face hostility and question everything he was taught to know about the mother planet and his home. Winner of the 2023 Booker Prize, is set in an imagined Ireland that’s sliding toward tyranny. Eilish Stack is a Dublin scientist, wife and mother. When her husband disappears and she’s questioned by the country’s newly formed secret police squad, she’ll have to reckon with a society on the brink of collapse and how to keep her family safe within it. Taste is subjective, and has plenty of genres to recommend. If dragons are your thing, check out books we suggest by Rebecca Yarros. If you're into mysteries, try these by Colleen Hoover or see if you’re brave enough for one of If you want something with lower stakes and loveable characters, see if a or is for you. If you want the most popular titles, check out .FMC Corporation announces date for fourth quarter 2024 earnings release and webcast conference callphmacao legit 。

Kyren Wilson reveals he was left ‘feeling like his head would explode’ during UK Snooker Championship winWASHINGTON — When Elon Musk first suggested a new effort to cut the size of government, Donald Trump didn’t seem to take it seriously. His eventual name for the idea sounded like a joke, too. It would be called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a reference to an online meme featuring a surprised-looking dog from Japan. But now that Trump has won the election, Musk’s fantasy is becoming reality, with the potential to spark a constitutional clash over the balance of power in Washington. Trump put Musk, the world’s richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, in charge of the new department, which is really an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations. Last week, Musk and Ramaswamy said they would encourage Trump to make cuts by refusing to spend money allocated by Congress, a process known as impounding. The proposal goes against a 1974 law intended to prevent future presidents from following in the footsteps of Richard Nixon, who held back funding that he didn’t like. “We are prepared for the onslaught from entrenched interests in Washington,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. “We expect to prevail. Now is the moment for decisive action.” Trump has already suggested taking such a big step, saying last year that he would “use the president’s long-recognized impoundment power to squeeze the bloated federal bureaucracy for massive savings.” It would be a dramatic attempt to expand his powers, when he already will have the benefit of a sympathetic Republican-controlled Congress and a conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court, and it could swiftly become one of the most closely watched legal fights of his second administration. “He might get away with it,” said William Galston, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. “Congress’ power of the purse will turn into an advisory opinion.” Right now, plans for the Department of Government Efficiency are still coming into focus. The nascent organization has put out a call for “super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.” Applicants are encouraged to submit their resumes through X, the social media company that Musk owns. In the Wall Street Journal, Musk and Ramaswamy provided the most detailed look yet at how they would operate and where they could cut. Some are longtime Republican targets, such as $535 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Other plans are more ambitious and could reshape the federal government. The two wrote that they would “identify the minimum number of employees required at an agency for it to perform its constitutionally permissible and statutorily mandated functions,” leading to “mass head-count reductions across the federal bureaucracy.” Civil service protections wouldn’t apply, they argue, because they wouldn’t be targeting specific people for political purposes. Some employees could choose “voluntary severance payments to facilitate a graceful exit.” But others would be encouraged to quit by mandating that they show up at the office five days a week, ending pandemic-era flexibility about remote work. The requirement “would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome.” Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said such cutbacks would harm services for Americans who rely on the federal government, and he suggested that Musk and Ramaswamy were in over their heads. “I don’t think they’re even remotely qualified to perform those duties,” he said. “That’s my main concern.” Kelley said his union, which represents 750,000 employees for the federal government and the city of Washington, D.C., was ready to fight attempts to slash the workforce. “We’ve been here, we’ve heard this kind of rhetoric before,” he said. “And we are prepared.” There was no mention in the Wall Street Journal of Musk’s previously stated goal of cutting $2 trillion from the budget, which is nearly a third of total annual spending. Nor did they write about “Schedule F,” a potential plan to reclassify federal employees to make them easier to fire. Ramaswamy once described the idea as the “mass deportation of federal bureaucrats out of Washington, D.C.” However, Musk and Ramaswamy said they would reduce regulations that they describe as excessive. They wrote that their department “will work with legal experts embedded in government agencies, aided by advanced technology,” to review regulations that run counter to two recent Supreme Court decisions that were intended to limit federal rulemaking authority. Musk and Ramaswamy said Trump could “immediately pause the enforcement of those regulations and initiate the process for review and rescission.” Chris Edwards, an expert on budget issues at the Cato Institute, said many Republicans have promised to reduce the size and role of government over the years, often to little effect. Sometimes it feels like every budget item and tax provision, no matter how obscure, has people dedicated to its preservation, turning attempts at cuts into political battles of attrition. “Presidents always seem to have higher priorities,” he said. “A lot of it falls to the wayside.” Although DOGE is scheduled to finish its work by July 4, 2026, Edwards said Musk and Ramaswamy should move faster to capitalize on momentum from Trump’s election victory. “Will it just collect dust on a shelf, or will it be put into effect?” Edwards said. “That all depends on Trump and where he is at that point in time.” Ramaswamy said in an online video that they’re planning regular “Dogecasts” to keep the public updated on their work, which he described as “a once-in-a-generation project” to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.” “However bad you think it is, it’s probably worse,” he said. House Republicans are expected to put Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump ally from Georgia, in charge of a subcommittee to work with DOGE, according to two people with knowledge of the plans who were not authorized to discuss them publicly. Greene and Rep. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, have already met with Ramaswamy, the two people said. Musk brought up the idea for DOGE while broadcasting a conversation with Trump on X during the campaign. “I think we need a government efficiency commission to say like, ‘Hey, where are we spending money that’s sensible. Where is it not sensible?’” Musk said. Musk returned to the topic twice, volunteering his services by saying “I’d be happy to help out on such a commission.” “I’d love it,” Trump replied, describing Musk as “the greatest cutter.” Musk has his own incentives to push this initiative forward. His companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, have billions of dollars in government contracts and face oversight from government regulators. After spending an estimated $200 million to support Trump’s candidacy, he’s poised to have expansive influence over the next administration. Trump even went to Texas last week to watch SpaceX test its largest rocket. DOGE will have an ally in Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who has railed against federal spending for years. He recently told Fox News that he sent “2,000 pages of waste that can be cut” to Musk and Ramaswamy. “I’m all in and will do anything I can to help them,” Paul said. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

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The Centre has begun formulating the draft for the “UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) 2.0” scheme, which aims to support last-mile connectivity through the development of cost-effective airport infrastructure, sources told businessline . The regional air connectivity UDAN scheme was launched in 2016 for a period of 10 years. The new version of the scheme will support the last-mile air connectivity programme beyond 2026. Notably, the new iteration of the scheme, unofficially known as “UDAN 2.0,” intends to provide a cost-effective means to develop and operate over 100 underutilised airstrips in the country. As of now, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has operationalised 86 aerodromes—comprising 71 airports, 13 heliports, and two water aerodromes under the scheme. Besides, the scheme, which is in the draft stage, sets out a clear roadmap for first identifying those airstrips out of over 100 such infrastructure sites that hold immediate potential to harbour financially viable flight operations based on the location’s nearby captive population, industries, and places of tourism. Furthermore, the draft scheme proposes to reduce the running cost of small regional airports and advance landing grounds (ALGs), which were earlier used for military operations. It is estimated that on average, running operations at such an airport or ALG costs around ₹7 to ₹10 crore per annum. “We are studying ways to reduce expenses while ensuring that these flights remain viable under the scheme’s funding structure,” sources said. “The idea is to allow technological interventions to reduce cost and increase efficiency, wherever possible.” Apart from reducing expenses, the new scheme will look at ways to ease operational regulations so that airlines or helicopter operators can start flights to last-mile destinations while offering affordable fares. A case-in-point, sources cited are the recent guidelines for seaplane operations that have reduced infrastructure requirements and eased regulations. “The key focus of ‘UDAN 2.0’ is to ease regulations so that airports, heliports in Tier III and IV cities, or ALGs, become financially feasible for flight operations,” sources said. Additionally, the draft emphasises various ways to ease the entry barriers for new airlines, helicopters, seaplanes, and light aircraft operators. The cost element, sources added, is the single biggest entry barrier for new players to enter the segment. “More players are required to provide affordable air fares and to create the last-mile connectivity infrastructure that is needed,” sources told businessline. The market-driven model of the first UDAN scheme allow airlines to assess demand on specific routes and submit proposals during bidding rounds. It incentivises airlines to connect underserved regions by offering them support through Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and various concessions provided by airport operators, the central, and state governments. Since its inception, the scheme has facilitated the travel of over 1.44 crore passengers across more than 2.8 lakh flights. The scheme has operationalised 601 routes, including helicopter routes, while the number of operational airports in the country has doubled from 74 in 2014 to 157 in 2024. The Central government aims to increase the number of operational airports to 350-400 by 2047. CommentsNone

In case you missed Saturday’s NYT Mini Crossword puzzle, you can find the answers here: The last Lazy Sunday of the year is upon us, and I recommend you take full advantage of it. Hell, I recommend you take Monday off and just keep the weekend rolling straight through New Year’s Day. School’s out for winter. Stay home and play games, watch some of the great movies and TV shows that are out this weekend, and eat way too much food. You can get back to all your healthy, productive stuff on Thursday. But first, let’s solve today’s Mini Crossword! The NYT Mini is a smaller, quicker, more digestible, bite-sized version of the larger and more challenging NYT Crossword, and unlike its larger sibling, it’s free-to-play without a subscription to The New York Times. You can play it on the web or the app, though you’ll need the app to tackle the archive. Answers to today’s Mini Crossword below . . . . Spoilers ahead! ACROSS 1 — Getting closer, so to speak — WARM 5— First-string crew — ATEAM 7 — ___ journalism, style associated with Hunter S. Thompson — GONZO 8 — Prized "activity" for new parents — SLEEP 9 — Opposite of more — LESS DOWN 1 — Moves like an excited dog's tail — WAGS 2 — Ring-shaped reef — ATOLL 3 — Zellweger of "Bridget Jones's Diary" — RENEE 4 — Puzzles in a children's coloring book — MAZES 6 — Cleans the floor — MOPS This was a pretty quick Mini even if a couple of the words were a bit trickier than others. I actually skipped 1 and 5 ACROSS and went straight to 7—GONZO—and then 9—LESS. I kept thinking NAPS for 8-ACROSS but it ended up being SLEEP. Close enough! I had to think a bit before I came up with ATOLL for 2-DOWN but the rest were pretty obvious. Today’s Mini took me 1 minute and 11 seconds. How did you do? Let me know on Twitter , Instagram or Facebook . If you also play Wordle, I write guides about that as well. You can find those and all my TV guides, reviews and much more here on my blog . Thanks for reading!

SAN DIEGO , Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNA), a biopharmaceutical company committed to delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCsTM), today announced that on November 20, 2024, the Human Capital Management Committee of Avidity's Board of Directors granted non-qualified stock option awards to purchase an aggregate of 117,000 shares of its common stock and 58,500 restricted stock units ("RSUs") to twelve (12) new non-executive employees under the Avidity Biosciences, Inc. 2022 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan (the "2022 Inducement Plan"). The awards were granted as inducements material to the employees entering into employment with Avidity in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The 2022 Inducement Plan is used exclusively for the grant of equity awards to individuals who were not previously employees of Avidity, or following a bona fide period of non-employment, as an inducement material to such individuals' entering into employment with Avidity, pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The options have an exercise price of $43.65 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Avidity's common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market on November 20, 2024, or the vesting commencement date. The shares subject to the stock options will vest over four years, with 25% of the shares vesting on the one-year anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the balance of the shares vesting in a series of 36 successive equal monthly installments thereafter, subject to each employee's continued employment with Avidity on such vesting dates. The RSUs will vest in four equal installments on the first four anniversaries of the vesting commencement date, subject to each employee's continued employment with Avidity on such vesting dates. The awards are subject to the terms and conditions of the 2022 Inducement Plan and the terms and conditions of a stock option agreement or RSU agreement, as applicable, covering the grant. About Avidity Avidity Biosciences, Inc.'s mission is to profoundly improve people's lives by delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics - Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCsTM). Avidity is revolutionizing the field of RNA with its proprietary AOCs, which are designed to combine the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the precision of oligonucleotide therapies to address targets and diseases previously unreachable with existing RNA therapies. Utilizing its proprietary AOC platform, Avidity demonstrated the first-ever successful targeted delivery of RNA into muscle and is leading the field with clinical development programs for three rare neuromuscular diseases: myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Avidity is also advancing two wholly-owned precision cardiology development candidates addressing rare genetic cardiomyopathies. In addition, Avidity is broadening the reach of AOCs with its advancing and expanding pipeline including programs in cardiology and immunology through key partnerships. Avidity is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information about our AOC platform, clinical development pipeline and people, please visit www.aviditybiosciences.com and engage with us on LinkedIn and X . Investor Contact: Mike MacLean (619) 837-5014 investors@aviditybio.com Media Contact: Navjot Rai (619) 837-5016 media@aviditybio.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/avidity-biosciences-announces-inducement-grants-under-nasdaq-listing-rule-5635c4-302313526.html SOURCE Avidity Biosciences, Inc.NoneSAN DIEGO , Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNA), a biopharmaceutical company committed to delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCsTM), today announced that on November 20, 2024, the Human Capital Management Committee of Avidity's Board of Directors granted non-qualified stock option awards to purchase an aggregate of 117,000 shares of its common stock and 58,500 restricted stock units ("RSUs") to twelve (12) new non-executive employees under the Avidity Biosciences, Inc. 2022 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan (the "2022 Inducement Plan"). The awards were granted as inducements material to the employees entering into employment with Avidity in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The 2022 Inducement Plan is used exclusively for the grant of equity awards to individuals who were not previously employees of Avidity, or following a bona fide period of non-employment, as an inducement material to such individuals' entering into employment with Avidity, pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The options have an exercise price of $43.65 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Avidity's common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market on November 20, 2024, or the vesting commencement date. The shares subject to the stock options will vest over four years, with 25% of the shares vesting on the one-year anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the balance of the shares vesting in a series of 36 successive equal monthly installments thereafter, subject to each employee's continued employment with Avidity on such vesting dates. The RSUs will vest in four equal installments on the first four anniversaries of the vesting commencement date, subject to each employee's continued employment with Avidity on such vesting dates. The awards are subject to the terms and conditions of the 2022 Inducement Plan and the terms and conditions of a stock option agreement or RSU agreement, as applicable, covering the grant. About Avidity Avidity Biosciences, Inc.'s mission is to profoundly improve people's lives by delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics - Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCsTM). Avidity is revolutionizing the field of RNA with its proprietary AOCs, which are designed to combine the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the precision of oligonucleotide therapies to address targets and diseases previously unreachable with existing RNA therapies. Utilizing its proprietary AOC platform, Avidity demonstrated the first-ever successful targeted delivery of RNA into muscle and is leading the field with clinical development programs for three rare neuromuscular diseases: myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Avidity is also advancing two wholly-owned precision cardiology development candidates addressing rare genetic cardiomyopathies. In addition, Avidity is broadening the reach of AOCs with its advancing and expanding pipeline including programs in cardiology and immunology through key partnerships. Avidity is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information about our AOC platform, clinical development pipeline and people, please visit www.aviditybiosciences.com and engage with us on LinkedIn and X . Investor Contact: Mike MacLean (619) 837-5014 investors@aviditybio.com Media Contact: Navjot Rai (619) 837-5016 media@aviditybio.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/avidity-biosciences-announces-inducement-grants-under-nasdaq-listing-rule-5635c4-302313526.html SOURCE Avidity Biosciences, Inc.

Stock market today: Wall Street ends little changed after giving up a big morning gainMcDonald’s will bring back the McRib on Dec. 3

Jowell Global Ltd. Announces First Half 2024 Unaudited Financial ResultsFaraday Future to Give FX Business Update and Show First FX Prototype Mules in Las Vegas, NV from January 5-7Trump's picks for key positions in his second administration

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Aaron Cooley's 17 points helped Brown defeat Stony Brook 77-54 on Wednesday. Cooley also contributed five rebounds for the Bears (4-3). AJ Lesburt Jr. scored 16 points, going 6 of 10 (4 for 8 from 3-point range). Landon Lewis shot 5 of 8 from the field to finish with 12 points, while adding eight rebounds. Joseph Octave finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and two steals for the Seawolves (2-5). Stony Brook also got 17 points and three steals from Ben Wight. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .KULR Technology Stock: Buy, Sell, or Hold?

Tottenham star played for 60 minutes with a broken ankle during Man City win... - talkSPORTBy TravelPulse (TNS) While 2024 was a year that brought about significant, continued post-pandemic recovery for the travel industry, it was also a period of time marked by instability in some locations around the world. From attacks on the rail lines during the Paris Olympics to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, not to mention the war in Ukraine, the global travel realm in 2024 was fraught with challenges. It is against this backdrop that the international security and medical services provider Global Guardian recently released its 2025 Global Risk Map. Published annually, the map is meant to help travelers better understand the current global risk landscape. In order to develop its guidance, experts at Global Guardian assess a long list of country-specific security risk factors and indicators, including crime, health, natural disasters, infrastructure, political stability, civil unrest and terrorism. For 2025, Global Guardian’s assessment results underscore the reality that disruption globally and domestically continues to increase, and now more than ever travelers need to be prepared when exploring the world. As part of the latest assessment, Global Guardian highlighted a handful of specific global regions that are at particular risk of destabilization over the next year and beyond. Here’s a closer look at those regions, along with insights from Global Guardian CEO Dale Buckner, who recently spoke with TravelPulse at length about the risks travelers may face in 2025. Here are the regions at risk of destabilization in 2025: Middle East/North Africa Israel’s existential battle against Iran is set to continue into 2025, says the Global Guardian report. “In July 2024, Israel assassinated Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) safehouse in Tehran, and Iran has pledged revenge,” the report explains. “This comes as Iran and its web of regional proxies took their war on Israel out of the shadows and into the open following October 7, 2023, with seven live fronts.” Global Guardian also predicts that Israel’s regional war will shift from Gaza to the West Bank and Lebanon in the year ahead, heightening tensions with Hezbollah, while Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean will persist. The report adds that as “we enter 2025, Israel may assess that its strategic window to prevent a nuclear Iran is rapidly closing and choose to act.” The ongoing civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is also of concern, according to Global Guardian’s risk analysis. The conflict “has created a dire humanitarian situation with ethnically motivated violence on the rise,” says the report. Latin America Some of the areas of concern in the Latin American region include Venezuela and Mexico, according to Global Guardian. The risk in Venezuela is tied to the country’s long-standing territorial dispute with neighboring Guyana, says the report. “Since 2019, the U.S. Department of State withdrew all diplomatic personnel from U.S. Embassy Caracas and suspended all operations,” explains Buckner. “Violent crimes, such as homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, and carjacking, are common in Venezuela. Shortages of gasoline, electricity, water, medicine, and medical supplies continue throughout much of Venezuela. Simply put, Venezuela is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Western travelers and should be avoided.” In Mexico, meanwhile, the problems include drug cartel-related violence and theft, among other issues, says the report. Mexico recently inaugurated its first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, and like her predecessors she will face challenges “reining in cartel violence, corruption, extortion, theft and kidnapping,” says the report. “As such, security continues to be a top concern in Mexico’ ” says the report, which categorizes Mexico as “high risk” when it comes to travel for 2025. Countries classified as high risk experience regular conflict, criminal activity or civil unrest — and have not effectively managed those risks. The Global Guardian report also suggests there may be heightened risks in Mexico now that Donald Trump has been reelected U.S. president. “Bilateral relations between the U.S. and Mexico could dramatically deteriorate. Trump has promised a mass deportation operation, which could sour relations between the U.S. and Mexico, increasing risks to businesses operating in Mexico,” the report adds. Asked to comment on Mexico’s high-risk designation, Buckner stressed that the situation in the country is extremely nuanced, adding that it’s a vast oversimplification to call the entire country high risk. “There are pockets of Mexico that are wildly safe and wonderful to visit and people shouldn’t hesitate to go,” Buckner told TravelPulse. “And there are also pockets that are unsafe and dangerous.” The good news, added Buckner, is that Mexico’s new president is focusing a great deal of effort and energy on addressing the problems surrounding drug cartels, which are the source of a great deal of the risk. Buckner was quick to add however, that as long as there’s demand for drugs, the drug cartel situation is likely to remain problematic. “The U.S. is driving the drug demand — we consume more drugs then the rest of the world,” explained Buckner. “It’s really overly simplified to paint Mexico as the bad guy, because if there wasn’t demand, we wouldn’t need the supply. But the demand is real and violence comes with that.” Representatives for Global Nexus, a government and public affairs consultancy that advises travel and tourism companies and interests in Southern Mexico, told TravelPulse that while drug-related violence has been known to occur, it involves members of the drug cartel targeting each other, they’re not targeting tourists. “There is an ongoing battle between small drug vendors who use the beach to sell product to tourists hanging out on the beach,” explained Ruben Olmos, Global Nexus president and CEO, in reference to the Quintana Roo region, which is popular with tourists. “There have been cases where gunfire has been exchanged between these groups. They are targeting themselves. They are fighting over ‘This is my beach’ and they initiate a shootout.” However, added Olmos, that the U.S. State Department’s risk categorization for Quintana Roo (which is separate from the Global Guardian risk assessment) has not changed. Located on the State Department’s Mexico page, the risk assessment for Quintana Roo remains in the “Exercise Increased Caution” category, which is below the top risk categories of “Do Not Travel” and “Reconsider Travel.” The Exercise Increased Caution designation means “Be aware of heightened risks to safety and security,” explains the State Department’s website. Olmos also pointed out that Mexico is the only country that has a map on the U.S. State Department website that covers every single state in the country, providing details for travelers about which states are safest. Sub-Saharan Africa In June 2024, thousands of young people took to the streets in Kenya to protest a controversial tax bill. The protesters were met with heavy-handed policing, including the use of live fire and mass arrests, says the Global Guardian risk report. Despite the local security response, protests continued. The success and tenacity of the Kenyan movement has triggered similar protests or dissent in other countries including Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, and Nigeria, says Global Guardian. That is just a portion of the risk Global Guardian sees for Sub-Saharan Africa over the course of 2025. “With multiple conflicts escalating across the continent, aging leaders leaving behind unclear successions, and entrenched regimes with dissipating legitimacy, Sub-Saharan Africa now looks much like the North African and Arab world in the early 2010s,” says the report. “While the dynamic unfolding in Africa might not yet merit the label of “African Spring,” a significant change to the continent’s political status quo is coming.” A complete list of extreme and high-risk designations Several countries received an extreme or high-risk designation on the new Global Guardian risk map for 2025, including more than a few that are popular with leisure travelers or tourists. Extreme risk countries are those that Global Guardian says are “actively engaged in conflict, while also experiencing severe criminal activity and civil unrest.These countries are insecure; state institutions are too weak to manage militant groups or large-scale disasters.” They include Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Lebanon, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Ukraine, West Bank, Gaza and Yemen. The current list of high-risk countries, which are countries that experience regular conflict, criminal activity or civil unrest and have not effectively managed those risks, includes Bangladesh, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Libya, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, South Sudan, Uganda, Venezuela Officials from the Jamaica Tourist Board provided a statement to TravelPulse in response to Global Guardian’s designation of the country. “Last month, Global Guardian, a private security provider, released its 2025 Global Risk Map, which included Jamaica, amongst other destinations,” said the Tourist Board. “It is important to note that the crime rate against visitors is notably low at 0.01% and the majority of Jamaica’s tourism product remains unaffected.” The country’s tourism officials added that Jamaica has welcomed 3 million visitors this year and boasts a high repeat visitor rate of 42%. “The island is consistently ranked among the top destinations for international travel and visitors continue to come with confidence to enjoy all that Jamaica has to offer,” the statement adds. When it comes to Jamaica, Buckner offered similar comments to those of Mexico, noting that the situation is impacted by drug-related violence and the experience on the ground is nuanced and cannot be painted with a broad brush. “In the same vein as Mexico — Jamaica can be a wonderful place to visit,” says Buckner. “There are pockets of beauty and low crime and as long as you are careful, it’s a very low threat.” Bottom line on travel risks for 2025 Buckner, a retired Army colonel, maintains that the world is indeed a more risky place heading into 2025. The challenges in the Middle East and Ukraine are at the forefront of the instability, but are hardly the only cause for concern. “Israel has now gone to Gaza and cleaned out Hamas, they’re now moving north into Lebanon, and we are convinced Israel will strike Iran,” Buckner said during an interview that took place prior to Israel’s strike on Iran. “If that occurs you are going to see violence across the Middle East.” “But there are over 100 conflicts across the globe,” continues Buckner. When you combine that reality with other challenges the world is currently grappling with, including the destabilizing influences of climate change, there are plenty of risks for travelers to bear in mind when planning a journey for the coming year. He wraps up by offering a few tips for travelers, a check-list of sorts, to work through when planning or considering travel to a specific country in 2025: — If you don’t know who to call or how you are going to negotiate if someone is kidnapped, you shouldn’t go there. — Consumers need to read the fine print on travel insurance because it does not cover war zones, terrorism or natural disasters, says Buckner. And travelers are often surprised and find out too late that these types of events are not covered. — If you get stuck or stranded, if you don’t know who you are going to call to get you out of that situation, know what organizations locally or internationally are available to help you. ©2024 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Year in review: Influential people who died in 2024None

Brandin Cooks has been antsy about getting back on the field. He’ll probably get his chance on Thursday. The Dallas Cowboys officially activated the wide receiver from the injured list on Wednesday, and he’s expected to play when the Cowboys host the New York Giants on Thanksgiving Day. Cooks has missed the past seven games after an infection developed in his knee following a procedure. He hasn’t played since the Cowboys’ 20-15 Week 4 win against ... the Giants. Since then, he has gone two months without playing in a game. The Cowboys (4-7) are a very different looking team compared when Cooks last played in a game. Their 34-26 win over the Washington Commanders last week snapped a five-game losing streak and kept their barely flickering playoff hopes alive. Cooks, 31, will be catching passes from someone other than Dak Prescott on Thursday. Cooper Rush will start in his fourth consecutive game after Prescott had season-ending hamstring surgery earlier this month. Cooks was off to a very slow start in 2024, with nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown in the first four games. The 11-year veteran, who has posted at least 1,000 receiving yards in six seasons, will be a free agent after the season. He needs to have a strong finish to create a solid market for himself in the offseason.By COLLEEN SLEVIN DENVER (AP) — Amid renewed interest in the killing of JonBenet Ramsey triggered in part by a new Netflix documentary, police in Boulder, Colorado, refuted assertions this week that there is viable evidence and leads about the 1996 killing of the 6-year-old girl that they are not pursuing. JonBenet Ramsey, who competed in beauty pageants, was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in the college town of Boulder the day after Christmas in 1996. Her body was found several hours after her mother called 911 to say her daughter was missing and a ransom note had been left behind. The details of the crime and video footage of JonBenet competing in pageants propelled the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the United States. The police comments came as part of their annual update on the investigation, a month before the 28th anniversary of JonBenet’s killing. Police said they released it a little earlier due to the increased attention on the case, apparently referring to the three-part Netflix series “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey.” In a video statement, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said the department welcomes news coverage and documentaries about the killing of JonBenet, who would have been 34 this year, as a way to generate possible new leads. He said the department is committed to solving the case but needs to be careful about what it shares about the investigation to protect a possible future prosecution. “What I can tell you though, is we have thoroughly investigated multiple people as suspects throughout the years and we continue to be open-minded about what occurred as we investigate the tips that come into detectives,” he said. The Netflix documentary focuses on the mistakes made by police and the “media circus” surrounding the case. JonBenet was bludgeoned and strangled. Her death was ruled a homicide, but nobody was ever prosecuted. Police were widely criticized for mishandling the early investigation into her death amid speculation that her family was responsible. However, a prosecutor cleared her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, and brother Burke in 2008 based on new DNA evidence from JonBenet’s clothing that pointed to the involvement of an “unexplained third party” in her slaying. The announcement by former district attorney Mary Lacy came two years after Patsy Ramsey died of cancer. Lacy called the Ramseys “victims of this crime.” Related Articles Nation | Ex-US Sen. Bob Menendez seeks new trial, citing prosecutors’ recently admitted error Nation | Boston Mayor Wu: Mass deportation comments were ‘never directed’ to federal officials Nation | 'Demure' named Dictionary.com's Word of the Year Nation | Northern lights may be faintly visible across parts of the US this Thanksgiving Nation | White House pressing Ukraine to draft 18-year-olds so they have enough troops to battle Russia John Ramsey has continued to speak out for the case to be solved. In 2022, he supported an online petition asking Colorado’s governor to intervene in the investigation by putting an outside agency in charge of DNA testing in the case. In the Netflix documentary, he said he has been advocating for several items that have not been prepared for DNA testing to be tested and for other items to be retested. He said the results should be put through a genealogy database. In recent years, investigators have identified suspects in unsolved cases by comparing DNA profiles from crime scenes and to DNA testing results shared online by people researching their family trees. In 2021, police said in their annual update that DNA hadn’t been ruled out to help solve the case, and in 2022 noted that some evidence could be “consumed” if DNA testing is done on it. Last year, police said they convened a panel of outside experts to review the investigation to give recommendations and determine if updated technologies or forensic testing might produce new leads. In the latest update, Redfearn said that review had ended but that police continue to work through and evaluate a “lengthy list of recommendations” from the panel. Amy Beth Hanson contributed to this report from Helena, Montana.

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