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Online Transformer Monitoring System Market Growth Drivers and Future Outlook with Comprehensive AnalysisLOS ANGELES — The locker room after the Rams’ 37-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was as quiet as any this season. Players shouldered blame in quiet, shorts responses to reporters’ questions before filing out and into the night. As they dissected what had just happened, the Rams (5-6) also looked ahead and stated they could not afford for this game to spiral into the next game, which is Sunday’s matchup with the New Orleans Saints (4-7). “Just make sure you turn the page. Obviously, there are things that we want to correct from the game and find ways to be better moving forward, but make sure that we come out with great energy today. It starts today,” Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said before Wednesday’s practice. “There are going to be things we want to clean up from practice, make sure we do that and move on day-to-day with the right attitude and the right spirit.” As the Rams have gone about making those corrections, a consistent word has come to mind: Consistency. Asked what he’s looking for from the defense Sunday after its worst performance since the early weeks of the season, head coach Sean McVay used that word. He spoke about playing as a unit, sticking to assignments, coverage and pass rush complementing each other. Then he added with a smile, “Same things I’m looking for on the defense would be exactly how I would answer your offensive question as well.” Even 11 games into the season, we still haven’t seen the Rams offense perform with the type of consistency you would expect from a group with this much talent. Against the Eagles, the Rams moved the ball well in the first quarter, reaching the red zone twice without needing a third down. But any momentum was quickly lost with a 10-play second quarter that resulted in a loss of six yards. It was the same story a week before, with the offense blazing in the second and third quarters against the Patriots while going nowhere in the first and fourth quarters. “It’s kind of the word ‘consistency’ right now,” Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “There are times where it feels like we go right down the field and put it in, and there are other times where it just feels a little bit harder than it should. I think that’s the biggest key right now.” The defense is facing a similar obstacle. The Rams are among the best in the NFL at holding teams without a touchdown in the red zone, limiting opponents to a 48.8% success rate. That ranks eighth in the league, but the flip side is that the Rams allow teams 3.7 trips into the red zone per game, which is tied for 28th. Defensive tackle and captain Kobie Turner raised the issue of allowing too many long drives following the Eagles loss, and defensive coordinator Chris Shula agreed with the assessment. “Some of that, especially the other night, they were in third downs a decent amount of time and it was a third and favorable,” Shula said. “Then, finding a way to get stops, finding a way to play, get them off track, get them into 2nd-and-longs where you get those 3rd-longs, and you can earn the right to rush the passer.” Entering Week 13, it’s not encouraging that the Rams are still struggling to find consistency in their execution. But to this point, it hasn’t upended their season. The wild card might be out of reach, but the NFC West title is still up for grabs. But that starts with a road win against a Saints team playing with nothing to lose. “We know that it’s going to be a great challenge, especially at their place. It’ll be rocking atmosphere and environment with the holidays and the momentum they have,” McVay said. “We’ve a lot of guys that are experiencing things for the first time. I have seen the resolve of this group show itself. Now, we’ve to do it.” RAMS (5-6) at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (4-7) When: 1:05 p.m. Sunday Where: Superdome, New Orleans TV/radio: FOX (Ch. 11)/710 AM; 93.1 FM; 1330 AM (Spanish); Sirius 382, 226None

As Big Tech profit growth slows, investors hunt for a new thing The stock market’s growth engine is running on fumes. For years, investors have counted on the biggest technology companies to power equity indexes higher based on their strong earnings and expectations for even more profits in the future, most recently fuelled by the development of artificial intelligence services. Those days appear to be over, at least for now. And it’s forcing investors to think of other ways to play the latest equities bull market as it enters its third year, Bloomberg reports. The issue is profits. The Magnificent Seven tech giants -- Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Meta Platforms Inc, Microsoft Corp, Nvidia Corp and Tesla Inc -- are expected to post a combined earnings increase of 18 per cent in 2025, down from a projected 34 per cent for 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. Strip out Nvidia, arguably the biggest beneficiary of Wall Street’s AI mania, the rest of the group is expected to post a measly 3.0 per cent increase in profits in 2025. An 18 per cent profit expansion is good news for just about any sector -- but Big Tech. Should the estimate come to fruition, the high-flying cohort will fall behind health care in full-year earnings growth and not significantly above the materials and industrials groups. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index’s earnings growth is projected to reach 13 per cent in 2025, up from 10 per cent this year. In other words, the tech giants are no longer setting the pace for Corporate America. “The Mag Seven is not necessarily going to be the engine of growth for the market that it has been for the last year or so,” said Julian McManus, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson. Investors are already responding. In the week through Dec 4, the information technology group had its largest outflow in six weeks at $1.4 billion, according a Bank of America note on Friday citing data from EPFR Global. Small-cap stocks, which have been trailing the broader market this year, had $4.6 billion of inflows, putting them at an annualized record high of more than $30 billion. McManus said he’s watching for upside surprises in free cash flow growth and sees alternatives to Big Tech all over the world, not just in the US, where he’s “significantly underweight.” He likes energy producers, which are benefiting from power-thirsty data centers and are a popular play, and sees opportunities in biotech as well as chip design software companies like Cadence Design Systems Inc. A big part of the search for Big Tech alternatives is purely about their stock prices. Just this week, the Magnificent Seven companies traded at 41 times projected earnings, the highest valuation multiple since early 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The entire S&P 500 has seen a jump as well, with its ratio of 23 times the highest since 2021. But it’s still almost half the price of the tech giants’ valuations. “You’re being overly risky being in just the megacaps,” said Phil Blancato, chief executive officer at Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management. “You’re looking at companies that are trading at valuations that are quite rich. Some of the numbers for the rest of the S&P 500 don’t look bad, they look good. I’d rather buy the rest of the S&P 500 at 18 times (forward earnings) versus the entire S&P 500 at 23 or 24 times.” He isn’t alone in his scepticism. Wall Street pros like Michael Wilson, chief US equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, and Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO Capital Markets, also see the equities rally continuing to broaden to sectors beyond Big Tech, a trend that began in the second half of the year. “Euphoria around megacap tech is evident in growth expectations for the Magnificent 7 approaching all-time highs, just when their earnings are slated to decelerate,” Bank of America strategists led by Savita Subramanian wrote in a note to clients this week. With the cohort accounting for about a third of the S&P 500’s weighting, “we see more opportunity in the average stock than in the index,” the strategists wrote. However, that isn’t to say all Magnificent Seven stocks are created equal. Because there’s one company that stands head and shoulders above the rest: Nvidia. Relentless demand for its accelerators used in AI computing has sent earnings soaring. Nvidia is projected to deliver $71 billion in profits on revenue of $129 billion next year, up 49% and 52%, respectively, according to the average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. This explains why the stock is the seventh best performer in the Russell 1000 Index this year with a 193% gain — and the only Magnificent Seven company in the top 50. Much of Nvidia’s success is being driven by spending from its megacap peers. Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta Platforms are projected to show more than $200 billion in combined 2024 capital spending to beef up computing capacity. And they’ve pledged to spend significantly more next year. That’s great for Nvidia, but investors are questioning when those investments will pay off for the rest. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Mag Seven sort of break up because gravity is going to catch up,” Janus Henderson’s McManus said. Of course, Wall Street has underestimated Big Tech’s strength in the past. At the start of 2024, analysts were projecting earnings growth of 19% for the Magnificent Seven, and the group is now on track for a 34 per cent increase. And despite the numbers, the tech giants still retain their allure with investors, especially if the economy deteriorates. Scott Chronert, US equity strategist at Citigroup, likens the group to a defensive sector like consumer staples, whose products people need regardless of economic circumstances. The point being, megacaps remain a safe bet in uncertain times -- like now. “If you were to sell big tech, where would you go?” said Andrew Choi, portfolio manager at Parnassus Investments. “Do you really want to bet on rate-sensitive stocks where you need rates to go a certain direction? Do you want to chase places that have done well? Big tech remains the best, easiest answer for what you want regardless of what market conditions end up being.”

I haphazardly closed up the little house this year. I hurriedly swept the floors, took out the trash, checked the windows, pulled the Dutch door shut and whispered, “Thanks for the memories.” Not long after, a fierce night wind pushed the door open. Blowing snow drifted in and nestled in the corners. Tiny hand-shaped footprints crisscrossed the front porch. With the door ajar, raccoons let themselves in and ransacked the place. They tossed plates and cups, knocked the fry pan on the stove to the floor and clawed at the tablecloth in search of crumbs. So uncivilized. The little house really is just that. It measures 6 feet by 6 feet and has a ceiling that will graze the head of anyone over 5 feet, 2 inches tall. The front porch, which usually holds a red geranium and child-size wicker chair, runs the width of the little house. We built the little house 35 years ago. It was how we spent a summer vacation not long after we moved back to the Midwest. The husband drew meticulous plans, hauled in supplies and was assisted by a work crew that played with the hammer, colored all over the blueprints and littered the work site with empty juice boxes and yogurt pouches. Despite all the help, the little house was eventually finished and soon hosting tea parties, secret clubs, bank robberies and foreign invasions. The years flew, the children grew, the gatherings tapered from often to occasional, and the little house was visited less and less frequently. The life and laughter that once shook the walls quietly disappeared. More than a decade passed before a second generation brought the little house back to life. Red, white and blue garlands on the Fourth of July, small bouquets of freshly picked herbs in the summer, a pumpkin on the porch at Halloween and every pot and pan filled with maple leaves and acorns in the fall. A VRBO listing would read like this: Small, aging, rustic cottage. No fridge, heat or running water. Nearest bathroom 20 feet away in the big house. Kitchen fully stocked with plastic food. Decrepit dishware for four and a pink teapot missing the lid. Large chalk wall; no chalk. All you need is imagination. Now, after a busy summer and beautiful fall, the mercury in the thermometer plummeting and the wind howling, the little house stands bare and alone. Just when it appears forsaken and forgotten, a small voice asks to use one of those orange electrical cords in the garage. The plan is to lug a space heater to the little house. And could they cut some evergreens? And could they use that lantern with the candle in the hall? And how soon could I deliver a round of hot chocolate? Once again, the little house bustles with laughter and warmth. At least for one more season. Lori Borgman is a columnist, author and speaker. Email her at lori@loriborgman.com . Get local news delivered to your inbox!What Trump brings to the Middle East

Locally, Leading Tech Solution Bridging Online and Offline Retail, Announces First Omni-Seller Marketplace In Partnership with Trek BicyclePLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter's in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter's path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That's a very narrow way of assessing them," Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn't suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he'd be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter's tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter's lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor's race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama's segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival's endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King's daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters' early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan's presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan's Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.

Northwestern St. 71, North Alabama 58Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was delighted with his team's display as they enjoyed a resounding 3-0 victory at Girona in LaLiga on Saturday following recent disappointing performances. Ancelotti's side arrived at the Montilivi stadium following a midweek 2-1 loss to Athletic Bilbao, marking their fourth defeat in the last seven games in all competitions. Real's win over Girona closed the gap on leaders Barcelona to two points, with a game in hand, as they regained control of the title race despite scrutiny of key players like Kylian Mbappe and a lengthy injury list including talisman Vinicius Jr. "(Jude) Bellingham has scored his fifth goal in a row. He's back and in good form. Mbappe scored today too ... We have to hang in there, little by little we're coming back," Ancelotti said told a news conference. "We had to hold on at the beginning because (Girona) pushed hard. We did a good job collectively, and then we handled the advantage well. The team had more clarity and more idea. I think the second half went very well." The Italian also praised Arda Guler's performance after the Turkish youngster scored Real's second goal, delivering a solid overall performance despite limited playing time this season. "He wasn't good in the first half but in the second half he scored a fantastic goal," Ancelotti said. "What I want to highlight is his work. He runs a lot and helps the team. His goal takes a bit of pressure off him. He's a young player with a lot of pressure around him and it's good for him to take a bit of pressure off." The Spanish champions now turn their attention to the Champions League where they visit Serie A leaders Atalanta on Tuesday, looking to move up from 24th place - the last spot that qualifies for the knockout round playoffs. Ancelotti said he expected Vinicius Jr and Brazilian compatriot Rodrygo to return to action in Bergamo.

Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for RBC Bearings (NYSE:RBC) Stock PriceRams in search of offensive consistency in New Orleans

NoneThe USS Zumwalt is at a Mississippi shipyard where workers have installed missile tubes that replace twin turrets from a gun system that was never activated because it was too expensive. Once the system is complete, the Zumwalt will provide a platform for conducting fast, precision strikes from greater distances, adding to the usefulness of the warship. “It was a costly blunder. But the Navy could take victory from the jaws of defeat here, and get some utility out of (the ships) by making them into a hypersonic platform,” said Bryan Clark, a defence analyst at the Hudson Institute. The US has had several types of hypersonic weapons in development for the past two decades, but recent tests by both Russia and China have added pressure to the US military to hasten their production. Hypersonic weapons travel beyond Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, with added manoeuvrability making them harder to shoot down. Last year, The Washington Post newspaper reported that among the documents leaked by former Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was a defence department briefing that confirmed China had recently tested an intermediate-range hypersonic weapon called the DF-27. While the Pentagon had previously acknowledged the weapon’s development, it had not recognised its testing. One of the US programmes in development and planned for the Zumwalt is the Conventional Prompt Strike. It would launch like a ballistic missile and then release a hypersonic glide vehicle that would travel at speeds seven to eight times faster than the speed of sound before hitting the target. The weapon system is being developed jointly by the Navy and Army. Each of the three Zumwalt-class destroyers would be equipped with four missile tubes, each with three of the missiles for a total of 12 hypersonic weapons per ship. In choosing the Zumwalt, the Navy is attempting to add to the usefulness of a 7.5 billion US dollars (£5.9 billion) warship that is considered by critics to be an expensive mistake despite serving as a test platform for multiple innovations. The Zumwalt was envisioned as providing land-attack capability with an advanced gun system with rocket-assisted projectiles to open the way for Marines to charge ashore. But the system featuring 155mm guns hidden in stealthy turrets was cancelled because each of the rocket-assisted projectiles cost up to one million dollars (£790,000). Despite the stain on their reputation, the three Zumwalt-class destroyers: Zumwalt, Michael Monsoor and Lyndon B Johnson; remain the Navy’s most advanced surface warships in terms of new technologies. Those innovations include electric propulsion, an angular shape to minimise radar signature, an unconventional wave-piercing hull, automated fire and damage control and a composite deckhouse that hides radar and other sensors. The US is accelerating development because hypersonics have been identified as vital to US national security with “survivable and lethal capabilities”, said James Weber, principal director for hypersonics in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies. “Fielding new capabilities that are based on hypersonic technologies is a priority for the defence department to sustain and strengthen our integrated deterrence, and to build enduring advantages,” he said.Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Strictly Come Dancing 's fave Pete Wicks received an emotional shout-out from his bestie Vicky Pattison before the dance floor drama of the finals. The TOWIE heartthrob, who’s been dazzling the show with partner Jowita Przystał, received heaps of love from his reality star pal. Ahead of the big semi-final night, Geordie Shore's legendary Vicky showed her support on social media with a snap of the two of them. "Whatever happens tonight my best pal deserves to be in the @bbcstrictly final," her post read. "Without so much as a lick of prior dance training he has shown up every week and gave it his absolute ALL... He has put himself out there, grown, learnt and despite being absolutely terrified (not sure he'll like me admitting that) he has allowed himself to be vulnerable." She urged her followers: "I know you love him as much as I do... so tonight, vote for @p_wicks01 and the beautiful @jowitaprzystal... Thankyou all in advance." Overwhelmed by the love, Pete replied: "V-Pizzle! F**k I love you.", reports the Mirror . Supporters swarmed the comments to show their love for the duo. One said: "My two little girls will be heartbroken if he leaves tonight, we are fully a Pete wicks household now with both myself and my husband voting for him more than 5 times a week to keep our girls happy! He's the best! " Another chipped in: "Love him. What a guy and he's so improved week on week." "I love it when someone with absolutely no dance experience at all, comes out every week and just puts his heart and sole into every dance he does," one fan gushed, while another chimed in: "He's been so brilliant and I really admire him for pushing himself out of his comfort zone. More than anyone on the show (possibly ever! ! ) this is all completely new for him, and it's lovely to see him be vulnerable and actually let people in." This came as Pete was nearly brought to tears after feeling deflated for making a significant mistake in his routine. Mid-performance, he was seen grimacing, clearly aware of his error and not pleased about it. As Pete and his professional dance partner Jowita Przystał wrapped up their dance, they shared a comforting hug, with Jowita offering him praise. However, Pete was visibly upset, repeatedly apologising to his dance partner, who tried to downplay the mistake. Host Tess Daly quickly stepped in to console the distressed star, while judge Anton Du Beke didn't hesitate to highlight his "disaster" of a mistake. But when it came to the judges' scores, host Claudia Winkleman revealed that the Strictly stars were "livid" with Pete's marks. The emotional moment continued as Pete hugged Jowita, repeating: "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry." She reassured him it was okay, before Tess added that he had nothing to apologise for.Ensuring that arts communities can flourish across Colorado takes creative solutions. A new policy framework from the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts creates a roadmap to address some of the top challenges for the state’s creative industries and to make the most of the opportunities ahead. Based on feedback from over 800 individuals through surveys, focus groups and interviews, the framework aims to represent the collective vision of the creative community across Colorado. “It recognizes the profound role that arts and culture play in shaping the social fabric, economic vitality and collective identity of communities” reads Colorado’s Art Policy Framework final report . “At its core, this framework is an affirmation that the arts are not merely an ornamental aspect of society but a fundamental driver of human expression, innovation, and connection.” While advocacy has long been relevant to the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts’ mission, the framework marks a shift for the 39-year-old organization. “Advocacy was always part of our mission, but sort of advocacy with a little ‘A,'” said Meredith Badler, the organization’s deputy director. “It was really during the pandemic that we got more involved at the state legislature as well as at the federal level, and so a lot of our initial advocacy work was very reactive.” Today, the organization has a contract lobbyist, a grassroots mobilization tool called the Colorado Arts Action Network , an active policy committee and important partnerships to support its advocacy efforts. The pandemic made it apparent that previous efforts were not always inclusive of the entire state and barely scratched the surface of need but also that there was an eagerness from people to have their voices heard in this arena, Badler added. It’s here that the need for a policy framework became apparent. “For a long time in Colorado there just hadn’t been a unified and coordinated voice for arts advocacy,” Badler said. “It really came from this idea of being more inclusive and proactive in our advocacy work going forward.” The framework establishes where the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts should focus its future advocacy and lobbying efforts through four priorities that exemplify what the organization heard through its stakeholder process. The first priority speaks to the need for policies that are locally and culturally responsive. In mountain and rural communities, the organization heard significant feedback around the need to amplify arts assets, events and cultural heritage through statewide tourism and local promotion, Badler said. These communities also expressed a need for more resources and capacity including in education, concerns about the affordability and availability of arts space and threatened liveability for creative employees, all of which are addressed in the framework. While the stakeholder process showed more similarities than differences between Colorado’s communities, there are still unique needs depending on where you live, Badler noted. “It’s a big, diverse state and the needs of a community — just even thinking about the Roaring Fork Valley, what people need in Rifle in Glenwood and the climate in Aspen — are very different,” she said. This top priority speaks to the need to understand “that every community or demographic or discipline may have some distinct needs, and we need to be thinking about that from the beginning as we’re suggesting, monitoring or supporting policy going forward,” Badler said. Policies that meet this could include creating and supporting municipal-arts partnerships, protecting dedicated arts spaces, using art as a tool to support mental health and ensuring equitable and daily access to arts. The second priority revolves around supporting the creative economy and ensuring there are sustainable funding models — be it grants or financial incentives — supporting art infrastructure and including the creative sector in economic and tourism strategies. The third priority is centered around bolstering the liveability of creative workers. This includes making sure creatives have access to affordable housing, fair compensation and professional development. The fourth and final priority is making sure arts education is supported and expanded for all ages. This includes policies to expand, improve, mandate and fund preschool to 12th-grade public arts programs as well as integrating arts into educational and career pathways. With the framework set out, the next step includes making a more tactical legislative agenda and ensuring these priorities are reflected in future policy at the federal, state and local levels. Critically, with a tight state budget and uncertain future for federal arts funding under President-elect Donald Trump, this will include collaboration and being creative about how to support the arts beyond funding. “How can we make sure arts and creative industries are incorporated into other initiatives?” Badler said, adding that this includes looking at things like: “What’s happening in the housing space, and how can we make sure artists and gig workers can access those opportunities? What’s happening in mental and behavioral health, and how can we make sure that arts interventions are eligible for those opportunities?” Federally, there are concerns that under the pending Trump administration, arts funding could take a hit including the National Endowment for the Arts. In his first term, Trump attempted to eliminate the program, from which the state of Colorado receives around $85 million to fund statewide programs. “It’s something we’re looking very closely at,” Badler said. “Not only would (changes to the National Endowment for the Arts) impact direct grants to cultural organizations and projects here in the state, but our state arts agency gets a significant amount of matching funds from the (endowment) every single year.” In addition to these large-scale efforts, the policy framework also suggests that local advocacy and progress are critically important. One survey respondent from the San Luis Valley put it this way: “When local communities are empowered to make decisions about what is happening in the community — whether it is arts related or education or otherwise — you get more buy-in and more genuine projects.” As such, the full 54-page report includes a comprehensive list of the concerns and potential solutions presented throughout the stakeholder process to guide local advocates and efforts. “While (Colorado Business Committee for the Arts) doesn’t have the capacity to be at every city council meeting across the state, we’re hoping that this can be a resource for those local advocates and that we can provide any support or guidance that’s available,” Badler said. In recent years, the organization also created the Colorado Arts Action Network , a grassroots mobilization tool to help people stay informed about and involved in arts policy. “I think the call to action is really signing up for the Colorado Arts Action Network,” Badler said. “That’s how we’ll really start. It will help people be able to stay more informed and take action going forward as we bring this roadmap to life.”

A 95-YEAR-OLD woman was left lying on the pavement with a broken hip in freezing weather for five hours waiting for an ambulance. Winifred Soanes fell over in Christchurch High Street, Dorset , in the early afternoon while out her 92-year-old husband Andrew. She was unable to move due to the sheer pain she was in. Despite multiple concerned members of the public making repeated 999 calls for an ambulance and explaining Winifred was elderly and vulnerable, they were told she "was not a priority". People managed to prop her head up with shoe boxes from market stallholders and a pillow from a nearby pub. Staff at Mountain Warehouse provided her with sleeping bags and charity shops gave blankets and hot water bottles to keep Winifred warm. read more news Others provided coffee and food to help Andrew, who is an army veteran and diabetic and who refused to leave his wife's side. An ambulance eventually arrived at 7.45pm on Monday and took Winifred to hospital where she remains today. To add insult to injury, Andrew has developed a chest infection as a result of being out in the cold so long and cannot visit his wife in hospital. People who helped the couple have slammed the "broken system". Most read in The Sun Jennifer Baylis, who was working in a charity shop, said: "I can't tell you how upsetting it was, she actually said 'I'm going to die here tonight'. "She was in a phenomenal amount of pain and in such a vulnerable position, on a cold floor, totally reliant on complete strangers. "She fell at 2.30pm and the ambulance finally showed up at 7.45pm. "We were all distressed that there was no first responder available, no police officer, literally no one available to help for over five hours. "You feel so helpless, I was so angry that they were in this position. It shouldn't be happening in this day and age. "The NHS are fantastic once help is there. We know how hard they work. "But something went very very wrong to leave a 95-year-old lady on the pavement of a high street at night." David Lovell, who saw her fall and was the first to call for an ambulance, said: "I can't describe how cold it was, and as it got dark, the temperature dropped really quickly. "She was lying on the cold pavement and we couldn't move her because she was in huge amounts of pain." When others called again to chase up the ambulance, they were given no time frame for how long the wait would be. Winifred was eventually taken to Poole Hospital and is waiting for a specialist operation for her injuries. Andrew said: "The situation was dire, but it's great to know that when they need to, the community all pull together to help." A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service, said: "We are sorry that we were not able to provide a timely response to this patient. "Any occasion where the care we provide falls below the high standards our patients deserve and rightly expect is unacceptable. "Handover delays at emergency departments remain one of our biggest challenges. READ MORE SUN STORIES "To ensure our ambulances are available to attend the next emergency call within the community, we need to be able to hand patients over within the 15-minute national target . "We continue to work hard with our partners in the NHS and social care, to do all we can to improve the service that patients receive." THE NHS waiting list in England has become a political flashpoint as it has ballooned in recent years, more than doubling in a decade. The statistics for England count the number of procedures, such as operations and non-surgical treatments, that are due to patients. The procedures are known as elective treatment because they are planned and not emergencies. Many are routine ops such as for hip or knee replacements, cataracts or kidney stones, but the numbers also include some cancer treatments. This is how the wait list has changed over time: August 2007: 4.19million – The first entry in current records. December 2009: 2.32million – The smallest waiting list on modern record. April 2013: 2.75million – The Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition restructures the NHS. Current chancellor Jeremy Hunt was Health Secretary. April 2016: 3.79million – Junior doctors go on strike for the first time in 40 years. Theresa May is elected Prime Minister. February 2020: 4.57million – The final month before the UK's first Covid lockdown in March 2020. July 2021: 5.61million – The end of all legal Covid restrictions in the UK. January 2023: 7.21million – New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledges to reduce waiting lists within a year, effectively April 2024. September 2023: 7.77million – The highest figure on record comes during a year hit with strikes by junior doctors, consultants, nurses and ambulance workers. February 2024: 7.54million – Ministers admit the pledge to cut the backlog has failed. August 2024: 7.64million – List continues to rise under Keir Starmer's new Labour Government.Colts at Patriots prediction: Odds, expert picks, QB matchup, injury update, betting trends and stats

TAL Education Group ( NYSE:TAL – Get Free Report ) and JIADE ( NASDAQ:JDZG – Get Free Report ) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and risk. Earnings & Valuation This table compares TAL Education Group and JIADE”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation. JIADE has lower revenue, but higher earnings than TAL Education Group. Profitability Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of current recommendations for TAL Education Group and JIADE, as reported by MarketBeat. TAL Education Group currently has a consensus target price of $14.80, indicating a potential upside of 52.11%. Given TAL Education Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe TAL Education Group is more favorable than JIADE. Institutional & Insider Ownership 37.8% of TAL Education Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of TAL Education Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth. Summary TAL Education Group beats JIADE on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks. About TAL Education Group ( Get Free Report ) TAL Education Group provides K-12 after-school tutoring services in the People’s Republic of China. It provides learning services primarily through small-classes services; personalized premium services; and learning content solutions, such as print books, smart books, mobile apps, and AI-driven learning devices. The company also operates www.xueersi.com, an online education platform; provides investment management and consulting services; develops and sells software and networks, as well as related consulting services; and sells educational materials and products. It offers its services under the Haoweilai and Think Academy brands. TAL Education Group was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China. About JIADE ( Get Free Report ) JIADE LIMITED specializes in providing one-stop comprehensive education supporting services to adult education institutions, through a wide spectrum of software platform and auxiliary solutions. The Company’s services are primarily offered through the Kebiao Technology Educational Administration Platform. JIADE LIMITED is based in Chengdu, China. Receive News & Ratings for TAL Education Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TAL Education Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .People are just finding out why plane window shades must be up during take-off and landingCHICAGO (AP) — Sam Darnold threw for 90 of his 330 yards in overtime to set up Parker Romo's game-ending 29-yard field goal , and the Minnesota Vikings outlasted the Chicago Bears 30-27 on Sunday after giving up 11 points in the final 22 seconds of regulation. Darnold threw two touchdown passes, Jordan Addison caught eight passes for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown, and T.J. Hockenson had 114 yards receiving for the Vikings (9-2), who remained one game behind Detroit in the rugged NFC North. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get updates and player profiles ahead of Friday's high school games, plus a recap Saturday with stories, photos, video Frequency: Seasonal Twice a week

BREAKING NEWS Influencer Dominique Brown dies at 34 as shocking claim emerges By ISHITA SRIVASTAVA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 15:03 EST, 7 December 2024 | Updated: 15:29 EST, 7 December 2024 e-mail 13 View comments Influencer Dominique Brown has died at the age of 34 reportedly from a severe allergic reaction at an industry event. Brown was at a BoxLunch event on December 5 when she unknowingly ate food which she was allergic to, according to other attendees. Numerous influencers who were present at the scene said the item she ate was unmarked and she had allegedly been told that the food item did not contain the ingredient she was allergic to before suffering the reaction. A X user, who goes by @hideyagrannies, claims that Brown was her mother's best friend for the past decade and that she was reportedly allergic to peanuts. The young adult also sensationally revealed that when the influencer asked to be taken to a hospital, 'everyone said no and took pictures first'. 'She was my moms best friend of 10 years. She asked if there was peanuts in the food and everyone told her no. When she instantly felt bad she asked someone to take her to the hospital, everyone said no and to take pictures first. So sad,' they said. DailyMail.com has reached out to BoxLunch's owner, Hot Topic for a comment. Brown was known to be a Disney-inspired influencer and went by HellooDomo on Instagram . After her tragic death, Brother Patrick Ramos took over her profile and shared a statement. 'I wanted to take a a moment to say thank you to her social media fam for showing her so much love and light. Disney did bring her joy, but it was unparalleled that she found a community who loved her and Disney as much as she did. 'I will miss my sister and best friend and that infectious smile she always had. Thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart.' Influencer Dominique Brown has died at the age of 34 from a severe allergic reaction at an industry event Share or comment on this article: Influencer Dominique Brown dies at 34 as shocking claim emerges e-mail Add comment

Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $3.36 Million Holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers formally asked a judge Monday to throw out his hush money criminal conviction , arguing that continuing the case would present unconstitutional “disruptions to the institution of the Presidency.“ In a filing made public Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers told Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan that anything short of immediate dismissal would undermine the transition of power, as well as the “overwhelming national mandate" granted to Trump by voters last month. They also cited President Joe Biden’s recent pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . People are also reading... “President Biden asserted that his son was ‘selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,’ and ‘treated differently,’" Trump’s legal team wrote. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, they claimed, had engaged in the type of political theater "that President Biden condemned.” Prosecutors will have until Dec. 9 to respond. They have said they will fight any efforts to dismiss the case but have indicated a willingness to delay the sentencing until after Trump’s second term ends in 2029. In their filing Monday, Trump's attorneys dismissed the idea of holding off sentencing until Trump is out of office as a “ridiculous suggestion.” Following Trump’s election victory last month, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed his sentencing, previously scheduled for late November, to allow the defense and prosecution to weigh in on the future of the case. He also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier. He says they did not and denies any wrongdoing. The defense filing was signed by Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who represented Trump during the trial and have since been selected by the president-elect to fill senior roles at the Justice Department. Taking a swipe at Bragg and New York City, as Trump often did throughout the trial, the filing argues that dismissal would also benefit the public by giving him and “the numerous prosecutors assigned to this case a renewed opportunity to put an end to deteriorating conditions in the City and to protect its residents from violent crime.” Clearing Trump, the lawyers added, would also allow him to “to devote all of his energy to protecting the Nation.” Merchan hasn’t yet set a timetable for a decision. He could decide to uphold the verdict and proceed to sentencing, delay the case until Trump leaves office, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court or choose some other option. An outright dismissal of the New York case would further lift a legal cloud that at one point carried the prospect of derailing Trump’s political future. Last week, special counsel Jack Smith told courts that he was withdrawing both federal cases against Trump — one charging him with hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate, the other with scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election he lost — citing longstanding Justice Department policy that shields a president from indictment while in office. The hush money case was the only one of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial, resulting in a historic verdict that made him the first former president to be convicted of a crime. Prosecutors had cast the payout as part of a Trump-driven effort to keep voters from hearing salacious stories about him. Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels. Trump later reimbursed him, and Trump’s company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses — concealing what they really were, prosecutors alleged. Trump has said the payments to Cohen were properly categorized as legal expenses for legal work. A month after the verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that ex-presidents can’t be prosecuted for official acts — things they did in the course of running the country — and that prosecutors can’t cite those actions to bolster a case centered on purely personal, unofficial conduct. Trump’s lawyers cited the ruling to argue that the hush money jury got some improper evidence, such as Trump’s presidential financial disclosure form, testimony from some White House aides and social media posts made during his first term. Prosecutors disagreed and said the evidence in question was only “a sliver” of their case. If the verdict stands and the case proceeds to sentencing, Trump’s punishments would range from a fine to probation to up to four years in prison — but it’s unlikely he’d spend any time behind bars for a first-time conviction involving charges in the lowest tier of felonies. Because it is a state case, Trump would not be able to pardon himself once he returns to office. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!