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sp jili AMMAN | BEIRUT | CAIRO : Syrian rebels declared President Bashar al-Assad 's ouster after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, forcing him to flee and ending his family's decades of rule after more than 13 years of civil war in a seismic moment for the Middle East. The Islamist rebels also dealt a major blow to the influence of Russia and Iran in Syria in the heart of the region, allies who propped up Assad during critical periods in the conflict. The rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments. Thousands of people in cars and on foot congregated at a main square waving and chanting "Freedom" from a half century of Assad family rule, witnesses said. The rebels said prisoners had been freed from a large jail on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands. "We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains," the rebels said. Iran's embassy was also stormed by Syrian rebels, Iran's English-language Press TV reported. Web Development Advanced Java Mastery: Object-Oriented Programming Techniques By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Java 21 Essentials for Beginners: Build Strong Programming Foundations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Crypto & NFT Mastery: From Basics to Advanced By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Office Productivity Mastering Google Sheets: Unleash the Power of Excel and Advance Analysis By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Mastering C++ Fundamentals with Generative AI: A Hands-On By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By - Study At Home, Quality Education Anytime, Anywhere View Program Data Science MySQL for Beginners: Learn Data Science and Analytics Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Entrepreneurship Building Your Winning Startup Team: Key Strategies for Success By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Entrepreneurship From Idea to Product: A Startup Development Guide By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass By - CA Himanshu Jain, Ex McKinsey, Moody's, and PwC, Co - founder, The WallStreet School View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Learn InVideo AI: Create Videos from Text Easily By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Web Development Master RESTful APIs with Python and Django REST Framework: Web API Development By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Future of Marketing & Branding Masterclass By - Dr. David Aaker, Professor Emeritus at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, Author | Speaker | Thought Leader | Branding Consultant View Program Strategy ESG and Business Sustainability Strategy By - Vipul Arora, Partner, ESG & Climate Solutions at Sattva Consulting Author I Speaker I Thought Leader View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Entrepreneurship Marketing & Sales Strategies for Startups: From Concept to Conversion By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Hezbollah , which provided crucial support to Assad for years, withdrew all of its forces from Syria on Saturday as rebel factions approached the capital Damascus, two Lebanese security sources told Reuters on Sunday. One of the sources said that the supervising forces that Hezbollah had deployed to Syria overnight between Thursday and Friday had been sent to oversee the pullback. Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that Assad's rule had ended, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters. But the military later said it was continuing operations against "terrorist groups" in the key cities of Hama and Homs and in the Deraa countryside. Assad, who has not spoken in public since the sudden rebel advance a week ago, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, as rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments. His whereabouts now - and those of his wife Asma and their two children - remain unknown. Call for Free Election As Syrians expressed joy, Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali called for free elections. But that would require a smooth transition in a country with complex competing interests, from Islamists to groups with links to the United States, Russia and Turkey. Jalali also said he had been in contact with rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani to discuss managing the transitional period, marking a notable development in efforts to shape Syria's political future. The collapse of Assad's rule followed a shift in the balance of power in the Middle East after many leaders of Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, a lynchpin of Assad's battlefield force, were killed by Israel over the past two months. The road ahead is highly complex with a mosaic of groups pursuing conflicting agendas. Turkey-backed Syrian forces have taken control of some 80% of northern Syria's Manbij and are close to victory against Kurdish forces there, a Turkish security source said. Russia, a staunch Assad ally, intervened decisively in 2015 to help Assad during Syria's civil war. But with its military resources mostly tied down in Ukraine, Moscow's ability to influence the situation on the ground was far more limited this time round - despite maintaining two military facilities in Syria. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )White House pressing Ukraine to draft 18-year-olds so it has enough troops to battle RussiaMatt Gaetz withdraws as attorney general nominee

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Danel Aboitiz —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO A notable trait that can set the Aboitiz Group apart is its sheer longevity—which it owes to the successful, intergenerational management by cousins, rather than by siblings or father-and-son teams. This makes it quite unique among the country’s enduring family-run conglomerates. The reins are currently held by Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) CEO Sabin Aboitiz, a member of the fourth generation who is focused on transforming the group into a “techglomerate,” where operations make full use of the latest technological innovations. Helping Sabin achieve this goal is a growing echelon of nephews and nieces—the fifth generation—holding top positions across the group. One of them is 43-year-old Danel Aboitiz, the only son of AEV chair Enrique Aboitiz and renowned painter Valeria Cavestany. Danel took over as president and CEO of Aboitiz Power Corp. on July 1 this year. Much is expected of Danel as his portfolio—consisting of 49 power generation facilities and nine electric distribution sites across the Philippines— accounts for the majority of the group’s total earnings. At the end of the first nine months of 2024, AEV, which also has interests in power, banking, property development, infrastructure and food, rang up a net income of P18.8 billion, up 4 percent from the P18 billion recorded in the same period last year. And of that profit, AboitizPower accounted for 64 percent or P14.5 billion, a share that was also up by 4 percent from the previous year thanks to higher generation and additional supply from newly built solar power plants. Danel’s decisions have an outsized impact on a conglomerate whose history traces back to the late 1800s. But he has years of experience to guide him. Before taking over as CEO, Danel was the chief commercial and stakeholder engagement officer and the senior vice president of the Regulatory Affairs and External Relations at AboitizPower. He also served as president and chief operating officer within the company’s coal and oil business units. He also significantly contributed to its geothermal business unit and the SN Aboitiz Power Group, the joint venture between Scatec of Norway and AboitizPower for large hydropower facilities in Luzon. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and also completed a year of study at the Beijing Language and Culture University. As CEO, Danel, who was recruited to the group by his uncle and former AEV CEO Erramon Aboitiz, is determined to further grow its assets, which will include both traditional and renewable power plants. At present, about 70 percent of AboitizPower’s output still comes from fossil fuel-fired plants, including those using coal. But the medium to long-term goal is to gradually increase the share of renewables as long as the price and reliability issues are addressed. Danel is also an advocate of upstream natural gas and coal exploration, as he believes that securing indigenous sources will not only improve the country’s energy self-sufficiency but also provide a shield from global price fluctuations and foreign exchange risks. But he also hopes to introduce another type of “derisking” to AboitizPower, one aiming for a scenario where the company would no longer depend most heavily on Philippine operations for its revenues. Plans are therefore in place to expand abroad. “We are also looking to diversify away from coal, not to have an overreliance on just one technology. It does not mean we won’t build coal; it only means we will build other things faster,” Danel says. As AboitizPower expands, Danel says, the company will continue to be guided by the “timeless” values of integrity, responsibility, teamwork, innovation and service excellence. He defines integrity and responsibility as delivering on the group’s commitments and leaving things better than when they found them. These values, he says, provide AboitizPower with a strong foundation on its path toward achieving ambitious goals, which include having 4,600 megawatts of renewable capacity by 2030. Teamwork, or the desire for genuine collaboration across units within and outside the company, is a competitive advantage at AboitizPower, Danel stresses. Coupled with innovation and creative thinking, this allows them to capture synergies and efficiencies, therefore making the collective greater than the sum of its parts. Finally, and most importantly, service excellence, which Danel says is AboitizPower’s “reason for being.” “We always have the customer in mind. We strive to operate like a competitive retail business rather than a monopolistic utility. We endeavor to understand the needs of our customers, and innovate to better respond to their needs.” Putting the customer at the center of the business is a value that Danel shares with the rest of his cousins—and there are 17 of them, as of the last count, holding key posts across the organization. They all trace their roots to Paulino Aboitiz, a Spaniard who established Aboitiz & Co. in the late 1800s as a trading business dealing in abaca and general merchandise in Ormoc, Leyte. Also among the fifth-generation cousins managing the group are incoming Union Bank of the Philippines CEO Ana Aboitiz-Delgado, incoming Aboitiz Land Inc. CEO Rafael Fernandez de Mesa, and Pilmico Corp. CEO Tristan Aboitiz. Danel believes that family members naturally take a much longer view of the business, having an intimate knowledge of its history and deeply mindful of the legacy they want to leave for those next in line. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . But at the same time, this filial foundation of strength still needs to be fostered by a merit-based working environment, where professionals outside the generational circle can also thrive, grow as leaders in their own right, and help achieve the company’s mission. INQ

PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin wasn't in the mood to get into a semantic argument. Yes, the Kansas City Chiefs have played a ton of close games this season. Yet the idea that two-time defending Super Bowl champions are somehow more gettable than they've been? That's a nonstarter for the longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach. "I guess I don't know how dominant they need to be," Tomlin said. "I mean, they're 14-1." Even during a season in which the Chiefs often have looked ordinary as much as they've looked extraordinary, a victory in either of their final two games would assure them of home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs in their bid to become the first team in the Super Bowl era to win three straight titles. They'll get their first crack on Christmas Day in Pittsburgh. Playing on a holiday is hardly new for Kansas City. Doing it in the middle of the week though? "It was definitely exciting until I realized it was on Wednesday," Mahomes said with a laugh. Oh, and on a streaming platform, too. The meeting marks the end of a brutal stretch for both teams that required them to play three times in 11 days. The good news? After being on Netflix, they'll get to relax. How restful each team's break will be, however, likely depends on the outcome. With a Chiefs victory, Mahomes and his creaky ankle and most of their other regulars might get two-plus weeks off ahead of the divisional round. The Steelers (10-5) don't have that luxury, not after consecutive lopsided losses to Philadelphia and Baltimore dropped them into a tie with the Ravens atop the AFC North. Still, beating Mahomes for the first time in four tries would go a long way toward restoring some of the swagger that's seeped out while getting bullied by two of the league's elite. "I think that opportunity to play on Christmas Day, play the defending world champs and who they are and what they've done, it's a great opportunity for us," Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson said. "And really is a testament to who we can be." Best supporting actor Marquise "Hollywood" Brown gave what had been a middling Kansas City offense a jolt last week in his regular-season debut, catching five passes for 45 yards. He had missed the entire season after hurting his shoulder during the first game of the preseason. Brown's presence also took some of the attention away from first-round pick Xavier Worthy, a fellow speedster, who had seven catches for 65 yards and a touchdown in the best game of his career. "We'll get (Brown) involved more and more as the season goes on," Mahomes said. Hi, George? The Steelers are hoping wide receiver George Pickens will be available after he missed the past three games with a balky hamstring. Pittsburgh's offense has struggled to generate much downfield without its leading receiver. Wilson is averaging 167.7 yards passing without Pickens, compared with 271 yards when the 6-foot-3 Pickens is in the lineup. "He's one of the best receivers in the National Football League, without a doubt," Wilson said of his 23-year-old teammate. "The things that he can do with the football, his catching radius is remarkable. So I think the best thing that he brings is he strikes fear in that defense." A fear that's been lacking without him. Catching Kelce Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has just two touchdown receptions this season, his most recent coming Nov. 10 against Denver. That means the four-time All-Pro has failed in six consecutive games to get the one TD catch he needs to break a tie with Tony Gonzalez (76) for the franchise record. Kelce has 89 catches for 739 yards this season. Offensive line moves The Chiefs started All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney at tackle for the second straight week against Houston, and the result was the best protection Mahomes has had all season. But then right tackle Jawaan Taylor hurt his knee, and that forced the Chiefs to put Wanya Morris — who had lost the left tackle job — into the lineup. Meanwhile, the Chiefs are still hoping that former Pro Bowl left tackle D.J. Humphries will recover from his hamstring injury in time for the playoffs. "It's important that these guys — as they go through the ebb and flows of the season and game by game — is they stay locked in, they stay focused," Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. "We always are supporting them." Communication breakdown Pittsburgh's defense has been battered physically and mistake-prone mentally of late. The Steelers have given up more than 400 yards in consecutive games for the first time since 2019, and now they have to find a way to shore everything up on short rest against a quarterback who has thrown for 14 touchdowns in three games against Pittsburgh. Tomlin expressed disgust about giving up a pair of touchdown passes to tight ends against the Ravens, with a lack of communication being at the center of the problem on both plays. Tomlin said it's simply too late in the season for that to be happening and challenged his veteran-laden group to tighten up. "It is frustrating but, at the same time, we're human," linebacker Patrick Queen said. "This is when you're supposed to taking off as a defense, not falling back."TITLETOWN (NBC 26) — More than 60 Packers fans traveled together from Germany to Titletown this week for the team's games Sunday and Thursday. The group is representing German fan group " Packers Germany e.V. ," and says they are joined in Green Bay this week by contingents from the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic Two of the German fans say they enjoy American football because it's more complex and fast-paced than soccer, and they like that the NFL has more parity, with a salary cap Packers Germany says it's the third-largest NFL fan group in Germany Video shows the group touring Lambeau and speaking German with Titletown neighborhood reporter Karl Winter (The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details added for web) Ein, zwei, drei — go Pack go! Packers fans come from near and far to visit Lambeau Field — aber die Gruppe mit die längsten Reisen diese Woche kam aus Deutschland . That means: "The group with possibly the longest trip this week came from Germany." This group of Packers fans flew to the Midwest to see their favorite team play two games in five days. "For the last game, and for the game tomorrow, we will be at least 60 from Germany," Christopher Klehn-Schwandt said. Many of them are here for the first time. Klehn-Schwandt has been to Lambeau before, but says the magic hasn't worn off. "I had [the feeling] two years ago — first time [at] Lambeau Field, inside, outside, Pro Shop — you can't stop smiling anymore, just like a dream," he said. Christopher is a board member of Packers Germany, which he says is the third-largest NFL fan group — and growing. "We are over 660 members right now, and we hope to have 1000 by the end of next year," Klehn-Schwandt said. "That's our hope." Only the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have larger fan groups in Germany, according to Klehn-Schwandt The group got a stadium tour from former Packers receiver Antonio Freeman, then visited with team president Mark Murphy — highlights of a trip that included stops around the Midwest. Benjamin Brandt, who is from Hamburg, said American sports fans are nicer than European sports fans. "From the people who are just great and welcome you with open arms," Brandt said, "to the experience around Lambeau with the tailgating, with all these crazy people, with the Frozen Tundra man, Packer mania, and all these guys being there — such big fans with all their stuff — to the game itself; I wasn't prepared for how cold it was. [...] You get addicted into it, and I just love the sport." The group's tour guide, Joachim Exler, said the group trip sold out in less than 48 hours. "It's getting more and more popular," Exler said. "We get a lot of questions [like] 'I want to visit NFL teams.' It's amazing." Before the group continued to explore Lambeau, I decided to put my German heritage to the test, with one more question for the group: "Which is better, German beer or American beer?" I asked Klehn-Schwandt in German. "Definitely German beer," he said, "except Spotted Cow. That's the best beer that I've drank in America in the last 20 years." Chris says the group will be tailgating for Thursday night's game in Lot 1, and if it goes anything like Sunday's game against the 49ers — he's expecting a victory.It’s almost a new year, and that means it’s almost time for a bevy of new state laws to go into effect. For the 2023-24 legislative session that just wrapped up (each session spans two years) Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 1,017 bills into law, according to Chris Micheli, a veteran Sacramento lobbyist. That’s a tick more than one-fifth of t he 4,821 bills introduced over that two-year span . Most of the new laws are slated to kick in on Jan. 1. From new parking rules to health care coverage and more, here is a quick look at just 10 of those new laws: Cannabis cafes Local jurisdictions could give the green light to permit certain cannabis retailers to prepare and sell drinks and food that do not contain cannabis. The law, signed by the governor in late September , also allows the retailers to host ticketed live events on the premises. The idea is to pave the way for a version of Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes, where people can use cannabis with others while also consuming coffee, sandwiches and live music, for example. The new law “will allow cannabis retailers to diversify their business and move away from the struggling and limited dispensary model,” Assemblymember Matt Haney, a San Francisco Democrat who championed the effort in the legislature, said in a news release . Newsom vetoed similar legislation last year over concerns from public health advocates. This bill included additional provisions meant to reduce health risk, including letting employees wear employer-provided masks and allowing local governments to require filtration and ventilation systems to prevent smoke from permeating nearby buildings. Child content creators Minors who make money by producing online content should get some extra financial protection as a result of two bills the governor signed this year. One expands the Coogan Act , a longtime California law that requires parents to open a trust and set aside at least 15% of their child actor’s gross earnings. The new rules have been expanded to include “kidfluencers” — or, as the bill describes them, “child influences in paid online content or internet websites, social networks and social media” — as part of the creative or artistic services that would trigger a Coogan trust account. Another extends those financial protections to children who appear in vlogs, or video blogs. Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, noted the Coogan Act covers children under contract — not necessarily children who appear in their parents’ online content. This new law requires content creators to set aside a percentage of total gross earnings in a trust for the child (to be accessed when they become an adult) if the minor is in at least 30% of their content within a month. Education Several education bills were signed into law this year, ranging from rules to protect young people from being outed against their will to rules that require elementary schools to offer free menstruation products . Other new laws cover what is taught in the classroom, including a bipartisan measure that ensures students are being taught accurately how Native Americans in California were treated during the Gold Rush era and the Spanish colonization of California. “Classroom instruction about the Mission and Gold Rush periods fails to include the loss of life, enslavement, starvation, illness and violence inflicted upon California Native American people during those times,” said Assemblymember James Ramos, D-San Bernardino. “These historical omissions from the curriculum are misleading.” California public schools also will be required to teach Mendez v. Westminster , a landmark court case involving an Orange County family and local school districts that helped bring about the end of segregation laws in local schools around the country. E-bikes Selling a device, often called a “tuning kit,” that can modify the speed capability of an electric bicycle so that it is no longer defined as an e-bike will be prohibited . California law already has speed guidelines for e-bikes. For example, a Class 1 bike has a motor that kicks in when a rider is pedaling and tops out at 20 mph; a Class 3 motor is meant to stop at 28 mph, and those bikes include speedometers. Modifying the speed of e-bikes is already illegal and unsafe, Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, said in an analysis of her bill. The new law specifically bans the sale of products that can make the alterations. Eviction notices Tenants soon will have more time to respond to an eviction notice. California law originally dictated that a landlord could not file an eviction lawsuit until after serving their tenant with a three-day notice — which excludes Saturdays, Sundays and judicial holidays — to pay. Tenants then had five days after they were served to file their defense in court. If they failed to do so, a judge could award a default judgment to the landlord. The new law doubles those five day-windows to 10 days. Responding to eviction lawsuits is not necessarily a simple feat, supporters of the new law have argued , particularly for people struggling to pay their rent. Tenants need to obtain hard-to-find legal aid or an expensive attorney to complete their defense filing accurately, and then they have to find the means to travel to the courthouse. Fertility treatment Certain insurers must cover fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization, in 2025. This law, which won’t take effect until July 2025 , will require large group health care service plans to cover up to three oocyte (egg) retrievals. It also prohibits health care service plans from imposing different conditions or coverage limitations on fertility medications or services. Sen. Caroline Manjivar, D-San Fernando Valley, said her bill being signed into law is “a triumph for the many Californians who have been denied a path toward family-building because of the financial barriers that come with fertility treatment, their relationship status or are blatantly discriminated against as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.” Medical debt Medical debt will no longer be shared with credit reporting agencies , meaning that debt will not show up on credit reports. That said, medical debts still must be paid. In her analysis of the bill Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, noted that the new rules doesn’t forgive medical debt or restrict the collection of it. Instead, she said, the new rules are meant to help “lift the credit scores of people who have been inaccurately and unfairly saddled with medical debts on their credit reports, opening opportunities for access to healthier financial products, better housing and more employment opportunities.” Online subscriptions A new law may make it easier to opt out of pesky automatic subscription renewals. Companies will now have to obtain the “express affirmative consent” to automatically renew subscriptions entered into after July 1, 2025. Consumers also will need to be sent annual reminders about automatic renewals, what the charges are, and information about how to cancel the service. Parking near crosswalks Think you’ve finally found an open parking spot? If it’s within 20 feet of any marked or unmarked crosswalk, then you may want to find a new spot. Starting in 2025, motorists could be ticketed for parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk — even if there is no sign posted. The no-parking zone decreases to 15 feet if there is a curb extension present, the law says. Newsom OK’d this law in 2023 — the bill is part of the two-year legislative session that ended in 2024 — and technically it already is in effect. However, the law only allowed jurisdictions to begin ticketing offenders starting Jan. 1, 2025. Youth in residential facilities Residential treatment facilities (also called short-term residential therapeutic programs) that provide services for minors, must report certain information to the child, their parent or guardian, and California’s Department of Social Services when seclusion or restraints are used. These facilities are allowed to use seclusion or restraints when staff believe the patient may be a danger to themselves or others, said Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, who championed this law. The new law mandates that children must be informed of their rights — including the right to contact state social service workers and the California Office of the Foster Care Ombudsperson — within one day of seclusion or restraints being used. Those minors also must be given an oral and written description of the incident, including who approved the disciplinary actions and the rationale behind them. That written information must be given to Dept. of Social Services within seven days, leaving it up to the state to review and determine if any laws were potentially violated by using seclusion and restraints, therefore warranting an investigation. Beginning in 2026, the department will need to publicly post information about these incidents, so parents and guardians can be better informed about where they send their children. The effort to bring more transparency to what punishments are used in youth residential facilities was championed by actress and activist Paris Hilton, who has detailed the “continuous torture” she faced while attending a boarding school as a teenager. Hilton has championed similar laws in other states related to what’s been dubbed the troubled teen industry as well as at the federal level . “For too long, these facilities have operated without adequate oversight, leaving vulnerable youth at risk,” said Hilton. “After being abused in a California facility in my teens, it is validating to see California taking a stand to protect our youth, and I hope our state is the standard for transparency and accountability in these facilities moving forward.”

Dec. 27—In 2019, Manhattan Municipal Court sought to improve how technology aids the court and the public. Five years later, a technology company is honoring the court for its effort to be more modern, efficient and accessible. Tyler Technologies gave the court its Tyler Excellence Award for its use of technology, city government officials announced Friday in a press release. Prior to its digital transformation, Manhattan Municipal Court had wrestled with aging computer infrastructure and an outdated "green screen" application that hindered efficiency and communication — critical components of effective judicial administration, officials said. Court administrator Jennifer Holmes spearheaded the change. "We had an antiquated system," Holmes said. "We didn't have a lot of reporting abilities." The court's transformational road map started in 2019 with the integration of Tyler Technologies' Municipal Justice program, which was followed by additional expansions and add-ons in 2020. By 2023, a significant software upgrade had been completed. "There weren't any huge challenges with the implementation, just getting staff on board," Holmes said. Officials said the change gave a significant boost to reporting capabilities, enabling the court to generate essential state reporting and statistical compliance more easily. Most notably, the court saw a 44% increase in compliance rates, a testament to the impact of the court's strategic approach to modernization. (c)2024 The Manhattan Mercury, Kan. Visit The Manhattan Mercury, Kan. at www.themercury.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . N.C. State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson was named head coach at Marshall on Sunday, shortly after Thundering Herd coach Charles Huff’s hiring was announced at Southern Miss. Gibson, 52, will take his first head-coaching job in college and return to his home state, where he served two stints at West Virginia over the past two decades. The terms of Gibson’s deal were not immediately disclosed. “We could not be happier to welcome Tony Gibson home as our 32nd head coach at Marshall University,” school President Brad Smith said in a statement. “Coach Gibson has led some of the top programs on the national level, but in the end, his heart desired to return to the mountains from which he came.” Gibson’s hiring was announced less than an hour after Huff was named coach at Southern Miss. Huff coached Marshall to a 31-3 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt championship game on Saturday night. Marshall (10-3) won seven straight games for its first 10-win season since 2015. Gibson coached defensive backs at West Virginia under Rich Rodriguez from 2001 to 2007. He returned in 2013 under Dana Holgorsen as safeties coach, then became defensive coordinator a year later and stayed until Holgorsen left at the end of the 2018 season. Gibson spent six seasons at N.C. State. He had other assistant coaching stints at Pitt and under Rodriguez at Michigan and Arizona. RELATED COVERAGE Big Ten wins playoff selection derby, followed by SEC despite notable Alabama omission Marshall’s Charles Huff is named coach at Sun Belt rival Southern Miss Purdue hires UNLV’s Barry Odom as its next football coach N.C. State’s defense ranked near the bottom of the ACC this season, allowing 30.5 points and 385 yards per game. The Wolfpack’s best season under Gibson was in 2022, when it tied with Louisville for the fewest points allowed at 19.2 per game and was second in yards allowed at 327. “My family and I are excited to start this journey, but we all thank you for your support and the wonderful memories,” Gibson wrote to the N.C. State community in a post Sunday on the social media platform X. Gibson, who is from Van, West Virginia, graduated in 1994 from Glenville State, where he played defensive back. “We have recruited a proven coach that aspires to be at Marshall and to sustain the success we have come to appreciate and expect,” athletic director Christian Spears said in the statement. “We can’t wait to get started with him and his staff.” Marshall associate head coach Telly Lockette will serve as interim coach in the Independence Bowl against No. 19 Army (11-1) on Dec. 28 in Shreveport, Louisiana. One of Gibson’s first tasks will be replenishing Marshall’s roster. The Thundering Herd signed only 11 recruits in the recent early signing period. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballContentious COP29 deal shows climate cooperation fraying at edgesCollege Football Playoff's first 12-team bracket is set with Oregon No. 1 and SMU in, Alabama out

US defender Carter-Vickers scores own goal with no-look pass for Celtic in Champions LeagueThese new California laws will go into effect in 2025