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Nvidia’s post-earnings reactions don’t always align with the big picture: Morning Brief Nvidia’s post-earnings reactions don’t always align with the big picture: Morning Brief Listen and subscribe to Stocks in Translation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. This is The Takeaway from today’s Morning Brief, which you can sign up to receive in your inbox every morning along with: Markets are at a crossroads. On Monday, indexes for large-cap stocks (^GSPC), small-cap stocks (^RUT), and the “Magnificent Seven” (MAGS) all sliced through key support levels. Then, on Tuesday, one of the most sensitive risk barometers — bitcoin (BTC-USD) — got taken to the woodshed, tanking the most since August (8%) and dropping to three-month lows. (A six-digit price is once again the target, not the base case.) But investors can hold on to hope for a few more hours. After the bell today, the world turns to fourth quarter earnings for the linchpin of AI euphoria, Nvidia (NVDA). This two-plus-year bull market has weathered several multi-month periods when Nvidia’s stock price sputtered. But the company’s stock hasn’t contributed to the bull market since last June, as its share price has effectively gone nowhere in that time. Nvidia has a storied history of bullish reactions following earnings, but the results are unsurprisingly volatile. Yahoo Finance analyzed stock price movement after all 103 earnings results for holding periods of one day, one week, one month, one quarter, and one year. Over the last 10 years (40 reports), buying Nvidia stock just before the earnings announcement has yielded a median return of 3% to 4% on the one-day, one-week, and one-month time frames. Holding for three months has yielded nearly 18%. NasdaqGS – Delayed Quote • USD At close: February 26 at 4:00:01 PM EST But the most substantial gains have been recognized by the longer-term holders, who have seen their holdings more than double (112%) over the following year. No surprises here. The disparity highlights a key tenet of the returns of Nvidia — and most of the growth stock darlings and highfliers over the years. Initial reactions may not make for long-term trends. And volatile earnings reactions might net bullish results but can also cause significant discomfort in the near term. But for all the Nvidia obsession, investors are right to question how much AI is still a picks-and-shovels or even an energy trade (as it morphed into in 2024). On a recent episode of Stocks in Translation, Lee Munson, president and chief investment officer of Portfolio Wealth Advisors, said the energy trade linked to AI — think utilities and infrastructure — hasn’t played out as expected. Story Continues “I am exiting that thesis,” he said. Munson says you can own Nvidia and sleep at night, “but that’s not where you can make the big money.” Instead, Munson sees opportunity in software. “I think you’ve got to look at who’s going to be able to provide bolt-on AI productivity tools right now,” he said. He believes Microsoft overpaid for infrastructure but likes other enterprise names like Salesforce (CRM) and SAP (SAP). “We thought [the time for the AI software trade] was going to be late 2026. But guess what — by the end of 2025, we’re going to be able to provide your enterprise a bolt-on AI doohickey,” he said. Meanwhile, Salesforce reports its own quarterly results Wednesday, in the shadow of its big brother in the AI trade. Click here for the latest crypto news, updates, and more related to ethereum and bitcoin prices, crypto ETFs, and market implications for cryptocurrencies Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance morning brief image Source link #Nvidias #postearnings #reactions #dont #align #big #picture #Morning Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nvidia warns of competition from China’s Huawei, despite U.S. sanctions Nvidia warns of competition from China’s Huawei, despite U.S. sanctions BEIJING — U.S. chip giant Nvidia has flagged heightened competition from Huawei, despite U.S. restrictions on the ******** telecommunications company. In an annual filing Wednesday, Nvidia listed Huawei among its current competitors, including it in the list for a second straight year. The company, blacklisted by the U.S. for national security reasons, did not feature among Nvidia’s competitors for at least three prior years. Nvidia listed Huawei among its competitors in four of five categories, including chips, cloud services, computing processing and networking products. “There’s a fair amount of competition in China,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC’s Jon Fortt Wednesday. “Huawei, other companies, are … quite vigorous and very, very competitive,” Huang said. Since 2019, the U.S. has restricted Huawei’s ability to access technology from American suppliers, from advanced 5G chips to Google’s Android operating system. Huawei’s revenue exceeded 860 billion yuan ($118.27 billion) in 2024, state media reported, a 22% jump in revenue from 2023, and the fastest growth since a 32% increase in 2016, according to CNBC calculations of publicly released figures. Huawei typically publishes its annual reports in March. The company’s revenue barely grew in 2020, and plunged by nearly 29% in 2021. Its consumer segment was hit hard, and even as revenue rose 17% year on year to 251.5 billion yuan in 2023, it was just over half of what the unit generated at its peak in 2020. The telecommunications company started to make a comeback in the smartphone market in 2023 with the release of its Mate 60 Pro in China. Reviews indicated the device offers download speeds associated with 5G — thanks to an advanced semiconductor chip. Just over a year later, Huawei launched the Mate 70 smartphone series that uses the company’s first fully self-developed operating system, HarmonyOS NEXT. Source link #Nvidia #warns #competition #Chinas #Huawei #U.S #sanctions Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Bezos focuses Washington Post opinion pages on free markets and liberties – BBC.com Bezos focuses Washington Post opinion pages on free markets and liberties – BBC.com Bezos focuses Washington Post opinion pages on free markets and liberties BBC.comJeff Bezos’ Directive for Washington Post Opinion Pages Leads to Editor David Shipley’s Exit The New York TimesElon Musk’s one-word compliment to Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post policy shift: ’Bravo’ MintPost owner Bezos announces shift in opinions section; Shipley to leave The Washington PostJeff Bezos’s Hypocritical Assertion of Power The Atlantic Source link #Bezos #focuses #Washington #Post #opinion #pages #free #markets #liberties #BBC.com Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Faithful gather to support the Pope Faithful gather to support the Pope Sarah Rainsford Europe correspondent in Rome Reuters Catholics gathered to pray for the health of the Pope beneath the steps of St Peter’s Basilica for a third night, as his doctors said his condition showed further slight improvement. Nuns dangling rosary beads, tourists and student priests were among those who joined the gentle incantation of the rosary in the ********. They were led by a cardinal in a scarlet skull cap who prayed for Pope Francis to be able to resume his duties as soon as possible. The nightly gatherings began on Monday after the 88-year-old’s health took a dramatic dip at the weekend. He was fighting to breathe and needed blood transfusions. But the latest statements suggest the Pope is able to sit in his chair, is eating normally and even doing what the ******** calls “light work”: reading and signing documents. “It was a bit scary last weekend but a bit better now,” Stacey, a medical student from Paris, told the BBC. She was attending the prayers for the Pope for a second time. “Francis is very popular with young people because he’s really open, and in a world that became a little scary, he gives us a lot of hope.” Xiomara from Panama said she felt drawn to this Pope in particular as “a good man”. “Prayers always help, they don’t just hang in the air,” she believes. Leading the rosary from beneath a white canopy was Cardinal Battista Re. He’s the figure in the ******** who would call a conclave – the closed gathering of senior clergy that elects a Pope – if Francis were not able to continue in the role. Despite the slight improvement, the Pope’s medical team are still giving no prognosis. He was admitted to Gemelli hospital on 14 February with double-pneumonia and, according to the ********, a CT scan of his lungs shows a “normal evolution” which suggests he is responding to treatment. We’re told he still uses additional oxygen but has suffered no further “respiratory crises”. The tone of ******** officials has certainly relaxed a little. On Tuesday, the Pope’s condition was described as “stable”, which was new. By Wednesday evening there was a “further slight improvement” and the update omitted to say “critical” for the first time. ******** officials cautioned that didn’t mean the Pope was out of the woods. But with so little to go on, those following his condition closely are wringing every word – or missing word – for meaning. Inevitably, many have also been wondering about the future. The Pope was frail even before this infection, so there has been speculation over whether he might resign. The Quotidiano Nazionale newspaper calls it the “fluttering of crows” over St Peter’s, inevitable at the “sunset” of any Papacy. EPA It’s even louder this time since Benedict XVI set a precedent and stepped down in 2013, the first Pope to do so in six centuries. Francis has said before that he would consider resigning if he can’t carry out his duties. “His instinct will be to carry on as long as he can and is able to,” believes Austen Ivereigh who co-authored a book with Pope Francis. “He’s shown he doesn’t mind being a weak and frail Pope; he can be a Pope in a wheelchair, or one who gets ill regularly and that’s ok.” All the same, if his health prognosis were too bad, the author says, “then the [resignation] issue might arise.” Even with Francis confined to the Gemelli hospital, the well-oiled ******** cogs continue to turn. The bureaucracy functions and the Pope has been signing some documents. On Monday, his Secretary of State and another senior official visited. Officially, the Pope signed papers, moving a list of candidates further along the path towards sainthood. But some question why they couldn’t wait, given the frailty of the Pope, and wonder what other plans were discussed at that meeting. As Francis enters his 14th day in hospital, pilgrims to Rome are already experiencing life without him. His weekly audience, or meeting, with the faithful was cancelled for the second week. “We really want him to get better and continue the amazing work he’s started,” said Mabi. She mentions the foregrounding of women in the church in particular. “He’s a people’s Pope and people want his work to continue.” “We’re sorry, because we hoped to meet the Pope today at an audience – we had tickets,” Fr Cristiano said. Around him almost 100 Catholics from northern Italy were gathering to begin processing up the street towards St Peter’s behind a large wooden crucifix. “I’m not disappointed, I’m just worried for him,” the priest said. “Today the news is not so bad, but it’s not so good, either. So we need to pray.” Source link #Faithful #gather #support #Pope Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Meta confirms Instagram issue that’s flooding users with violent and ******* Reels Meta confirms Instagram issue that’s flooding users with violent and ******* Reels Meta has admitted to CNBC that Instagram is experiencing an error that’s flooding users’ accounts with Reels videos that aren’t typically surfaced by its algorithms. “We are fixing an error that caused some users to see content in their Instagram Reels feed that should not have been recommended,” the company told news organization. “We apologize for the mistake.” Users have taken to social media platforms to ask other people whether they’ve also recently been flooded with Reels that contain violent and ******* themes. One user on Reddit said that their Reels pages was inundated with school shootings and *******. Others said they’re getting back-to-back gore videos, such as stabbings, beheadings and castration, nudity, uncensored porn and straight-up *****. Some said they still see similar videos even if they had enabled their Sensitive Content Control. Social media algorithms are designed to show you videos and other content similar to ones you usually watch, read, like or interact with. In this case, though, Instagram has been showing graphic videos even to those who haven’t been interacting with similar Reels, and sometimes even after the user has taken the time to click “Not Interested” on a Reel with violent or ******* content. The Meta spokesperson didn’t tell CNBC what exactly the error was, but some of the videos people have reported seeing shouldn’t have been on Instagram in the first place, based on the company’s own policies. “To protect users… we remove the most graphic content and add warning labels to other graphic content so that people are aware it may be sensitive or disturbing before they click through,” the company’s policy reads. Meta’s rules also state that it removes “real photographs and videos of nudity and ******* activity.” If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Source link #Meta #confirms #Instagram #issue #flooding #users #violent #******* #Reels Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Car seized in search after woman fatally shot on street Car seized in search after woman fatally shot on street A car has been seized as police ramp up their investigation after a 27-year-old woman was fatally shot on a suburban street in broad daylight. Source link #Car #seized #search #woman #fatally #shot #street Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Boeing’s Little Bird Helicopter Production Set To End Boeing’s Little Bird Helicopter Production Set To End Boeing expects to shutter its production of the Little Bird light helicopter after fulfilling a current contract with the Thai armed forces. The Little Bird is well known for its continued service with the U.S. Army’s famed 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), which operates the helicopter in AH-6 light attack and MH-6 assault configurations. Boeing has been able to secure just two export sales of its ‘international’ AH-6i variant to Saudi Arabia and Thailand in the past 15 years. A separate company, MD Helicopters, also produces Little Bird variants and looks set to continue to do so. Multiple outlets have reported Boeing’s plans to close out its Little Bird production line. The company disclosed the news at the DefenceIQ International Military Helicopter conference in London, which opened yesterday. An AH-6i destined for Thailand seen during flight testing. Boeing “We are probably going to cease production on the AH-6i,” Mark Ballew, Boeing’s director for Vertical-Lift Program Business Development and Strategy, told Aviation Week. “We will complete production for Thailand, but right now, unless there is another country that came along immediately and said we want AH-6 today, it would still be a challenge as there would be a gap in production.” Ballew also “suggested that rebuilding the supply chain for the aircraft would not only take time, but also make the aircraft more expensive to produce,” according to Aviation Week‘s report. TWZ has reached out to Boeing directly for more information. Boeing is currently working on delivering eight AH-6is to the Royal Thai Army under a contract finalized back in 2022, valued at just under $104 million. The U.S. government had approved that ***** in 2019. The single turbine engine AH-6i is an evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse, originally developed by Hughes Helicopters in the 1960s and made famous by its service with the U.S. Army as a light scout helicopter during the Vietnam War, and subsequent H-6 variants based around the improved Model 500 design. McDonnell Douglas acquired Hughes Helicopters in 1984. Boeing subsequently absorbed McDonnell Douglas, to include the Little Bird and the rest of the former Hughes Helicopter product line, in 1997. A prototype YOH-6A seen during US Army testing in the 1960s. US Army The Little Bird’s story has become somewhat confusing in that Boeing sold off virtually all of its inherited Hughes Helicopter product line, with the prominent exception of the AH-64 Apache, in 1999 to what has become MD Helicopters. However, Boeing continued to work with the Little Bird design after that, including upgraded Mission Enhanced Little Birds (MELB) for the 160th SOAR. One of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s MH-6 Little Birds seen during a public demonstration in 2024. Jamie Hunter The company also developed an uncrewed H-6U version and an improved light attack variant dubbed the AH-6S. The AH-6S was pitched to the U.S. Army for its abortive Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) program. The export AH-6i is based on the AH-6S. As already noted, Boeing has found just two customers for the AH-6i, Thailand and Saudi Arabia, the latter of which ordered 24 examples for the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) in 2014. Jordan signed a letter of intent to buy at least 18 AH-6is in 2010, but an expected contract never materialized. By comparison, MD Helicopters has enjoyed significant success in the international military market with Hughes Model 500-derived Little Birds, as well as sales of related commercial variants. This includes dozens of MD-530FU light attack variants delivered to the now-defunct Afghan Air Force, some of which made their way back to the United States after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. What level of involvement Boeing expects to continue to have in supporting the 160th SOAR’s Little Bird fleet going forward is unclear. The Army had previously expected to replace around half of its AH-6/MH-6s with a special operations version of the design selected for the service’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program. However, FARA was canceled last year and the 160th is now looking, at least in the near term, at options for further upgrades to its Little Bird fleet, as you can read more about here. For Boeing, plans to shed the Little Bird production line also come amid significant turmoil across its military and commercial portfolios. This has translated to major delays on very-high-profile programs, including new Air Force One jets for the U.S. Air Force, and billions in financial losses. In 2023, the company had also announced its intention to shutter production of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter and refocus those resources elsewhere, again citing a lack of new customers. Unless a major new customer for the AH-6i emerges soon, Boeing’s part of the Little Bird story looks set to come to end, though versions of the iconic helicopter will remain in production through MD Helicopters. Contact the author: *****@*****.tld Source link #Boeings #Bird #Helicopter #Production #Set Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Trail Blazers 129-121 Wizards (Feb 26, 2025) Game Recap – ESPN Trail Blazers 129-121 Wizards (Feb 26, 2025) Game Recap – ESPN Trail Blazers 129-121 Wizards (Feb 26, 2025) Game Recap ESPNShaedon Sharpe’s eye-popping dunk caps a career night as the Trail Blazers beat the Wizards 129-121 ESPNBlazers get second straight win with 129-121 victory over Wizards to start road trip KATUPortland’s Shaedon Sharpe enters Dunk of the Year territory with wild one-handed slam over Justin Champagnie Yahoo SportsBlazers’ Shaedon Sharpe makes case for NBA’s best dunk this season NBA.Com Source link #Trail #Blazers #Wizards #Feb #Game #Recap #ESPN Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

WA Election 2025: Liberals to propose Government ‘savings’ in costings next week, says Steve Martin WA Election 2025: Liberals to propose Government ‘savings’ in costings next week, says Steve Martin Shadow treasurer Steve Martin has revealed the Liberals will announce Government savings measures as part of the party’s election costings announcement next week. Source link #Election #Liberals #propose #Government #savings #costings #week #Steve #Martin Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

‘I don’t want it to die’: one man’s battle to save the last phone box in his village | Communities ‘I don’t want it to die’: one man’s battle to save the last phone box in his village | Communities The battleground at the heart of a struggle between an 89-year-old man and a multi-billion pound multinational is a small junction in a Norfolk village, where a red phone box stands. And at the red phone box, sheltering from the wind, is Derek Harris. Last month, he learned that BT (formerly British Telecom) was threatening to close the phone box in the village of Sharrington, where he has lived for 50 years, when he saw it on the agenda of the parish council meeting. “I thought: ‘I’d better do something about this,’” says Harris. He has described it as a “David and Goliath” campaign. It is that, and – as becomes clear on this sunlit but biting February day – so much more. We will talk mortality and reprieves, heritage and value. I’ll leave with a renewed sense of how it’s possible to feel real affection for an inanimate object, and why having a mission matters. First, though, some field mice. Sharrington is in a picturesque part of East Anglian countryside. “We’re surrounded by open, rolling, wonderful fields – arable, beautiful,” says Harris, “except they’re inhabited by field mice – and field mice have developed a penchant for the PVC that protects the copper cabling [of phone lines]. Opposite the church, which is just up the road, there is a telegraph pole, and in it, there are three mice nesting.” His eyes sparkle. The rodents gnawed through the wires, disrupting villagers’ phone lines and internet. He knows about the mice, he says, because an engineer from Openreach, the BT-owned company that looks after the network, told him. Harris keeps an eye on Openreach, because there is a green junction box, connected to the new fibreoptic cables, barely a couple of metres from the phone box. It wouldn’t take much to connect the payphone to fibreoptic, insists Harris – as with the whole telephone network, phone boxes will need to be upgraded to digital lines by the time the analogue network is switched off in 2027. “There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be connected, and so I’ve set my heart on it.” He says engineers visit most weeks anyway. “So maintenance [of the phone box] would be no problem. It’s cost-effective.” The approach we’ve taken is to say that boxes that we think are essential are protected from removal The *** has 14,000 working phone boxes, down from 20,000 three years ago; at their peak in the 1990s, there were 100,000. Of these, around 3,000 are the iconic red design. When about 95% of households have a mobile phone, it’s perhaps a wonder that phone boxes survive at all. Owned and run by BT, and costing millions of pounds each year, they are required by the regulator Ofcom under the quaintly named telephony universal service obligation. In the year to May 2020, almost 150,000 calls were made to emergency services from phone boxes, as well as 25,000 and 20,000 calls made to Childline and Samaritans, respectively. “We have a legal responsibility to make sure that phone boxes exist to meet the reasonable needs of citizens in the ***,” says Katie Hanson, senior consumer policy manager at Ofcom, who was part of its review on payphones, with new guidance published in 2022. “Obviously, what ‘reasonable needs’ looks like won’t be the same today as it was before everyone had a mobile phone. The approach we’ve taken is to say that boxes that we think are essential are protected from removal.” A phone box cannot be removed if it is the last in an area (more than 400 metres from another phone box), and if one or more of the following conditions apply: if it’s in an area without coverage from all four mobile network providers, or if at least 52 calls have been made from it in the past year, or if it is somewhere with a large number of accidents or suicides (Harris hopes his phone box’s proximity to the A148 is what might save it), or, finally, if there is a high social need – for instance, if it has a number of calls to helplines such as Childline or domestic abuse charities. If a phone box is the last at the site, and none of the other conditions apply, then if BT wants to remove it, it has to start the consultation process with the local authority, which is what has happened in Sharrington. The crisis charities Childline and Samaritans receive thousands of calls from phone boxes. Photograph: Sally Anscombe/Getty Images Last year, fewer than 10 calls were made from Sharrington’s public phone box and it is one of 10 in the North Norfolk district council area earmarked for removal. The village, in a conservation area, has a church dating from the 13th century and a Jacobean manor house. Harris believes the phone box is “an iconic heritage asset” and the local MP, Steff Aquarone, has written to Historic England to try to get it listed. “Working K6 models are rare,” says Harris. The K6 (for Kiosk No 6), topped with its gilded Tudor crown, was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to mark the silver jubilee of George V in 1935. Harris has lived in Sharrington for half a century; it’s where he and his late wife brought up two children. The phone box has been there for even longer. Both Harris and the K6 share a birth year – 1935 – which partly explains his affinity for it. He spent his early life in Surrey, near Croydon Airport, enjoying the sight of planes flying overhead. “Very interesting for a little boy,” he says. “It wasn’t such a good location when war started, because airports were targets.” The family evacuated to the south coast, but that wasn’t much safer – ******* fighter-bombers would attack the area in “tip and run” raids. When Harris was about eight, he survived one such attack while out playing with his brother. “We saw our friends falling wounded; a few got killed.” Years later, as a young man, Harris joined the army and was injured. “A field surgeon saved my life,” he says, but he was warned that he would need multiple operations in the coming years and not to expect a long life (he is, he reminds me a few times, in his “90th year”). ‘It faced death in 2016; it’s still here’ … Harris with councillor Andrew Brown (left). Photograph: Joshua Bright/The Guardian Sharrington’s phone box has also fought off previous threats to its life. “They made an attempt to decommission it in 2016 and we resisted it successfully,” says Harris. “I’ve faced death before, passed through it. It faced death in 2016; it’s still here. Something tells me that it’s meant to stay.” Harris and those campaigning to keep it, including local councillor Andrew Brown, have been given an extra month to plead their case. “It can be a lifeline, and it’s a conservation asset,” says Brown, “a valuable communication resource, given the nature of mobile signalling being so poor around here.” The area is rural and isolated, some villagers have virtually no mobile signal, and North Norfolk has the highest proportion of older residents in England and Wales – the adults most likely not to have a mobile phone. And it has one of the highest proportions of second homes in the country. In an emergency, without a mobile signal or working payphone, try knocking on the door of an empty holiday home – one that probably doesn’t even have a landline anyway. Making their case in 2016, says Harris, “we said it was an animate part of the conservation area. It wasn’t just a museum piece, and people did use it.” But, he acknowledges, “probably more than they do now.” Many of the village elders, who relied on the phone box because they didn’t have mobile phones, have since died, but some elderly people still use it, insists Harris. If the box survives, one of the handful of calls it will have logged in 2025 will have been made by me. I lift the receiver and the crackle and deep hum of the dial tone takes me back to teenage calls, quick garbled ones you had to make before your money ran out. This phone box doesn’t take coins and doesn’t charge me, which I’m confused about. It turns out that there are some phone boxes that can’t take coins or cards, and offer free calls to *** landlines and mobiles. The few calls that have been made have been vital, they’ve probably saved someone’s life I ring the only number I can remember without looking at my contacts list – my partner’s. He doesn’t pick up, because who, in this day and age, answers an unknown landline number? So I WhatsApp him to say it was me, ringing from a phone box! We’re both momentarily thrilled by the novelty, and the nostalgia. Mobile phones are everywhere, Harris admits, but he points out that in this part of the country, the signal is sketchy. “We live next to perhaps the most beautiful part of Norfolk, the tranquil Glaven Valley with a pure chalk stream running through it. It attracts ramblers, walkers, the lot, and everyone knows that there’s a working kiosk.” Think if there was an emergency and the mobile network was down – something that may happen more frequently as we increasingly experience extreme weather, he says. “Wouldn’t it be awful if someone said: ‘If only they had kept that working kiosk’?” It has been used in emergencies. “What you have to bear in mind is the few calls that have been made have been vital, they’ve probably saved someone’s life. Not that long ago, there was a snowstorm.” The mobile network was down and the call someone made from the phone box “was the only way that rescue came to save this driver whose car was completely covered in snow – it fell off the top of the hedgerows on to his car, and he was trapped”. And not far away is the main road, known locally as the Sharrington straight – a rare straight stretch of road where Norfolk’s most reckless drivers tend to speed up. Last year, says Harris, “we had two accidents in one day, both serious hospital cases. It’s an accident hotspot.” He makes his case with justifiable, practical reasons why the phone box should be kept, but this isn’t the whole story, I realise, when we’re talking, out of the cold, at a nearby cafe. ‘The nearer you get to the end, the more you want to see things live. I wouldn’t like to see it die’ … Derek Harris. Photograph: Joshua Bright/The Guardian “Wouldn’t you like to see a working K6 retained by BT, just for the sake of it?” asks Harris. He is a good talker. He distrusts human rights lawyers, and misses the days when people respected the police. But he’s not all traditionalist – he spent much of his career working in energy conservation. I think he likes purpose and order – he is dressed impeccably in pressed jeans and shirt, and pristine traditional overcoat – which could be why he isn’t keen on the way red phone boxes have been repurposed in other villages. Under BT’s Adopt a Kiosk scheme, phone boxes have become libraries, or home to defibrillators. Why can’t Sharrington’s enjoy a new life as something like that? “It was not designed for that,” says Harris. “What it was designed for was communication. Why should it be changed into something else? It’s a telephone kiosk. It’s not some sort of library or whatever.” Change it into something else, and it becomes a quirky relic of British history. Another dial tone dead. As a functional phone box, says Harris, “it would be alive, wouldn’t it? That’s why I feel empathy – I feel an empathy for a living thing.” For Harris, it’s personal. There’s a comfort in continuity, and it’s about conserving what is worth conserving, leaving the world a better place, or at least not diminished. That includes a working, iconic red phone box in the village in which he has lived for so long. “It’s fighting for what is valuable, cherished.” The older he gets, he says, “there’s this thing about intimations of mortality. The nearer you get to the end, the more you want to see things live. I wouldn’t like to see it die. That’s the way to put it. That’s what I’m fighting for.” Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Source link #dont #die #mans #battle #save #phone #box #village #Communities Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Girl’s tragic death is a ‘wake-up call’ Girl’s tragic death is a ‘wake-up call’ An investigation is underway to determine what led to an 11-year-old student’s death by suicide and what could have been done to prevent it. The family of Jalyah Noel Thompson has said on social media that bullying at Eisenhower Middle School was a major factor in her Feb. 21 death. Rockford Public Schools Superintendent Ehren Jarrett said during a news conference Wednesday that bullying of Jaylah has not been confirmed. He said school district personnel are interviewing students, residents and staff to get to the bottom of what happened. He said police also are investigating. “We do not have any evidence that I would be able to share that that is what occurred,” Jarrett said. “I know that there are allegations … but we have a very detailed and thorough investigation process.” Family members say the Eisenhower Middle School student was bullied at school and died by suicide Friday, Feb. 21. Some family members have blamed school officials for not doing more to protect the girl. Jarrett said school district invests $30 million into support personnel beyond the basic package of teachers and counselors that are required. Rockford Public Schools Superintendent Ehren Jarrett discusses the tragic death of Eisenhower Middle School student Jalyah Noel Thompson, 11, during a news conference Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, at school district headquarters, 501 7th St. He said it wasn’t enough to save Jalyah. Jarrett called for renewed partnership between the school system, students, parents and social service providers. He encouraged anyone who is suffering to tell someone they trust. Even with highly trained personnel ready to help, schools can’t help if they don’t know a child is struggling, he said. There is information posted in every school on where to seek help for a variety of issues including bullying, eating disorders, drugs, anxiety, self harm, depression and suicide. Students can scan a QR to report concerns anonymously. Jarrett said additional staff have been assigned to Eisenhower to assist the distraught school community. “This is a wake-up call,” Jarrett said. “We want to make sure that students are saying something if they’re struggling, and if they feel uncomfortable saying something that family and friends are stepping up.” Jarrett said the community is rightfully angry and understandably looking to assign blame. “I’m sad, and I’m angry that this happened to such a young child,” he said. “I also want to see that we take that frustration and that sadness we feel and make sure that we are doing everything we can to come together and improve as a community, because we will be very limited in what we can accomplish with finger pointing. We will be much more successful if we come together and see what we can do to prevent future tragedy.” Family members say that Jalyah Noel Thompson, 11, an Eisenhower Middle School student, died by suicide Feb. 21, 2025. If you suspect someone is in crisis, contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline by dialing 988. You can also text “HOME,” to the crisis text line at 741741 to communicate with a crisis counselor. Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at *****@*****.tld and on X @jeffkolkey. This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford schools are investigating what led to 11-year-old’s death Source link #Girls #tragic #death #wakeup #call Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Some European Allies Fear Trump Is Out to Destroy Them Some European Allies Fear Trump Is Out to Destroy Them During his first term in office, President Trump described the European Union “as a foe,” established “to hurt the United States on trade.” He repeated the charge at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, but in more vulgar terms: “The European Union was formed in order to ****** the United States. That’s the purpose of it, and they’ve done a good job of it.” Then he said he was preparing to hit Europe with 25 percent tariffs on cars and other goods. After Mr. Trump’s embrace of Russia and his warnings that Europe had better fend for itself, the president’s latest attack added to the increasing view of European leaders and analysts that he and his team of loyalists consider America’s traditional allies in Europe as adversaries not just on trade, but on nearly everything. Some officials and analysts see the Trump administration as merely indifferent to Europe; others see open hostility. But there is a common view that the fundamental relationship has changed and that America is a less reliable and predictable ally. Mr. Trump has rebuffed NATO and aligned himself with the longstanding, principal threat to the alliance: Russia. Vice President JD Vance has attacked European democracy while calling for the door to be opened to far-right parties. Elon Musk, the billionaire Trump aide, has heaped contempt on European leaders and openly endorsed an extremist party in Germany. Equally shocking to European leaders, the United States this week refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations. It instead broke from its allies and voted with Russia, Belarus and North Korea, all authoritarian governments. European leaders are scrambling to assess and mitigate the damage. The prime minister of Britain, Keir Starmer, arrives at the White House on Thursday — the second such visit this week, after President Emmanuel Macron of France — still hoping to persuade Mr. Trump not to abandon Ukraine and to remain engaged in Europe. But Mr. Trump describes himself as a disrupter, and Mr. Macron got little for his attempt at seduction. Friedrich Merz, 69, the conservative politician likely to be Germany’s next chancellor, has expressed strong doubts about the trans-Atlantic relationship he and his country have been committed to for decades. On Sunday evening, after his party won the most votes in the ******* election, Mr. Merz said that after listening to Mr. Trump, “it is clear that the Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.” He wondered whether the American nuclear umbrella over NATO would remain — and even whether the alliance itself would continue to exist. “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” he said. His comments were a remarkable measure of the dismay felt by European leaders over the American reversal of policy on Ukraine and, perhaps more so, for its outright backing of far-right parties that despise European governments and support Russia. Mr. Merz’s remarks were reminiscent of a 2017 statement by Angela Merkel, then the ******* chancellor, after contentious alliance meetings with Mr. Trump. “The times in which we could rely fully on others — they are somewhat over,” she said. She encouraged Europeans to “take our fate into our own hands.” Her comments were considered a potentially seismic shift, but a real reorientation of European security policy never materialized. Matters are more serious now, said Claudia Major, who directs security policy at the ******* Institute for International and Security Affairs. “In Munich, Vance declared a culture war and said: ‘Join us or not. We have the right values and you have it wrong,’” she said. His speech, she added, made it clear that “the country that brought us back our freedom and our democracy is turning against us.” She is not alone in the assessment. Several analysts said the Trump administration’s actions showed that it was not merely indifferent to Europe, but was out to undo it. The distinction holds real consequences for how Europe can respond. “There is no question the intention is there to destroy Europe, starting with Ukraine,” said Nathalie Tocci, director of Italy’s Institute of International Affairs. “The empowering of the far right is instrumental to the goal of destroying the European Union.” The reason, she said, is that the Trump administration sees Europe not merely as a competitor, but also as an economic and even ideological threat. It wants to undermine the power of the European Union to regulate trade, competition and hate speech. The latter is a major topic for Mr. Vance, as he criticized what he called news media censorship and political correctness. The European Union is the largest trading bloc in the world, capable of striking back against Washington economically and in tariff terms, representing the “economic foe” Mr. Trump railed against in his first term. That power is being used against high-tech and social media companies whose leaders surround and subsidize Mr. Trump, like Mr. Musk, who owns the social media platform X. They, too, have an interest in weakening “the Brussels Effect,” as Anu Bradford of Columbia University Law School called it. The Brussels Effect is the power of the European Union to establish global rules and norms, and it is particularly important in the realms of climate regulations, digital competition, platform accountability and artificial intelligence. But if the Trump administration feels it necessary to destroy that threat, then there is little European nations can do to appease the White House, some warned. If Mr. Trump and his team “are out to push the far right and destroy European democracy, then no amount of European purchasing of American LNG or weapons will matter,” said Ms. Tocci, of Italy’s Institute of International Affairs. By increasing dependency, she added, “it could be a kind of double suicide.” U.S.-European relations tend to go in cycles, with important strategic debates in the past over Iraq or Afghanistan or even Vietnam. But now the clashes are simultaneously ideological, strategic and economic, said Camille Grand, a former NATO and French official with the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Facing hostility on all three fronts at once is quite a shock to Europeans,” said Mr. Grand. “Adding all three together you can wonder whether you are no longer a partner but a rival and, perhaps, even an adversary.” Every country in Europe is doing a reassessment of where it is vis-à-vis Washington, he said. What isn’t clear is whether, as in Mr. Trump’s first term, “you have an unpleasant roller-coaster ride that leaves you sick but you end up where you started, or whether the whole relationship now derails.” Linas Kojala, director of the Geopolitics and Security Studies Center in Vilnius, Lithuania, urges calm, because “there is no real alternative to the U.S. security guarantee” for a long time to come. “Declaring the trans-Atlantic relationship has collapsed would be like stepping off a ship in the middle of the ocean with no other vessel in sight.” So for now, he said, “Europe must ********” the Trump criticism and “do everything possible to keep the relationship intact.” But it is unlikely to return to where it was, Alex Younger, a former chief of Britain’s foreign intelligence service, MI6, told the BBC last week. “We are in a new era where, by and large, international relations aren’t going to be determined by rules and multilateral institutions,” he said, but “by strongmen and deals.” Matthew Kroenig, a former defense department official who is now at the Atlantic Council in Washington, calls himself a “normal Republican” and says that “there has been a bit too much hysteria over the past couple of weeks.” After all, Mr. Kroenig said, the first Trump term was also marked by “a lot of tough rhetoric against allies and a lot of deferential language toward Putin, but in the end, NATO was strengthened.” Others are less sure. Mr. Trump has been engaged in “a policy of rapid, unilateral concession of long-held positions on fundamental interests to persuade the aggressor to stop fighting,” said Nigel Gould-Davies of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, speaking of Russia in Ukraine. “The established name for such a policy,” he said, “is ‘strategic surrender.’” Whether it will produce the outcome Mr. Trump desires is not clear, he said. What is clear is that it is undermining allied trust in the credibility and common sense of the United States. It is imperiling old allies in Europe. And it is “making Russia a more powerful, assertive and attractive ally to America’s adversaries around the world,” he said. Source link #European #Allies #Fear #Trump #Destroy Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

************ prisoners freed after days-long delay as ****** hands over slain hostages – The Times of Israel ************ prisoners freed after days-long delay as ****** hands over slain hostages – The Times of Israel ************ prisoners freed after days-long delay as ****** hands over slain hostages The Times of IsraelBrother of freed Israeli hostage says ****** captors ate full meals and laughed as he was starved CNNLIVE: Israel releases ************ prisoners to Gaza, West Bank, Egypt Al Jazeera EnglishHamas: the only way the remaining hostages will be freed is through commitment to deal The Jerusalem Post Source link #************ #prisoners #freed #dayslong #delay #****** #hands #slain #hostages #Times #Israel Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Woman charged after allegedly glassing Thornlie service station attendant with broken bottle neck Woman charged after allegedly glassing Thornlie service station attendant with broken bottle neck Police allege the woman threw a broken bottle neck at a staff member’s head at a service station in Thornlie. Source link #Woman #charged #allegedly #glassing #Thornlie #service #station #attendant #broken #bottle #neck Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Want to Invest in Quantum Computing? 2 Stocks That Are Great Buys Right Now Want to Invest in Quantum Computing? 2 Stocks That Are Great Buys Right Now Quantum computing is often considered the next step forward for the computing industry. Whereas traditional computers still process data in binary bits of zeros and ones, quantum computers can process zeros and ones simultaneously in “qubits.” The difference allows quantum computers to crunch more data at higher speeds than binary computers, but they’re also much larger and more expensive, consume more power, and tend to output more errors. As a result, they’re still mainly used for niche research applications in universities and government institutions. But as quantum processing units (QPUs) become smaller, more powerful, and more power efficient, these systems could become widely adopted for mainstream applications. Image source: Getty Images. The nascent quantum computing market could grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.5% from 2025 to 2030, according to Grand View Research, even though Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang recently warned that it would take 15 to 30 years for “very useful quantum computers” to actually reach the mainstream market. If you want to start increasing your exposure to the quantum computing market before that ***** happens, you can consider accumulating these two stocks right now: IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). IonQ sells three quantum computers: its top-tier Aria system, its commercial Forte system, and its on-premise Forte Enterprise system. It plans to launch its newest Tempo system this year. IonQ also provides its own quantum computing power as a cloud-based service. Its customers include the U.S. Air Force Research Lab, other government agencies, and major universities. IonQ has also been trying to shrink the width of existing QPUs from a few feet to a few inches with its proprietary “trapped ion” technology. It believes that process will support the production of cheaper, smaller, and more accurate quantum computers. IonQ’s total quantum computing power, which it measures in algorithmic qubits (AQ), reached 36 AQ at the beginning of 2024. As it scales up its systems, it expects that figure to reach 64 AQ in 2025, 256 AQ in 2026, 384 AQ in 2027, and 1,024 AQ in 2028 as its gate fidelity (error detection rate) improves from 99.9% in 2024 to 99.95% in 2028. IonQ, which reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 26, expects its revenue to grow 75%-93%, to a range of $38.5 million to $42.5 million, in 2024. Analysts expect its revenue to jump to $83.2 million in 2025 and $153.3 million in 2026. That growth trajectory is impressive, but it’s expected to stay unprofitable for the foreseeable future. With an enterprise value of $6.53 billion, its stock is also richly valued, at 43 times its 2026 sales. Nevertheless, IonQ could continue to attract a lot of attention as one of the market’s few “pure play” quantum computing stocks. Story Continues If IonQ sounds too risky, then you can simply invest in Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). The tech titan is often considered a cloud and AI leader, but it’s been making plenty of progress in the quantum computing market. Microsoft recently unveiled its Majorana 1 chip, which can fit eight topological qubits on a single circuit, which is roughly the size of a desktop CPU. It was developed after 17 years of research and powered by the Majorana particle, which was first described by the Italian physicist Ettore Majorana in 1937, instead of electrons. By comparison, IonQ’s high-end Forte system has a maximum processing speed of 36 AQ, roughly comparable to Microsoft’s topological qubits. Microsoft says the Marjorana chips can eventually be chained together to deliver up to a million qubits of processing power, and that progress indicates that useful quantum computers are merely “years” instead of “decades” away. Microsoft doesn’t plan to mass-produce the Marjorana 1 anytime soon, but the eventual integration of those chips into its cloud infrastructure and AI ecosystems could supercharge those services in the future. For now, Microsoft is still a balanced play on the growing cloud, AI, gaming, and enterprise software markets. From fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2027, which ends in June 2027, analysts expect its revenue and EPS to both grow at a CAGR of 14%. Its stock looks reasonably valued at 27 times next year’s earnings, so it’s a great way to increase your exposure to the quantum computing market without taking on too much risk. Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $798,425!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 905% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 174% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of February 24, 2025 Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Want to Invest in Quantum Computing? 2 Stocks That Are Great Buys Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool Source link #Invest #Quantum #Computing #Stocks #Great #Buys Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Bezos focuses Washington Post opinion pages on free markets and liberties – BBC.com Bezos focuses Washington Post opinion pages on free markets and liberties – BBC.com Bezos focuses Washington Post opinion pages on free markets and liberties BBC.comJeff Bezos’ Directive for Washington Post Opinion Pages Leads to Editor David Shipley’s Exit The New York TimesPost owner Bezos announces shift in opinions section; Shipley to leave The Washington PostJeff Bezos’s Hypocritical Assertion of Power The AtlanticAmazon founder Jeff Bezos’ email to Washington Post employees has made Elon Musk ‘happy’ The Times of India Source link #Bezos #focuses #Washington #Post #opinion #pages #free #markets #liberties #BBC.com Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

*********** companies invited to invest in Ukraine *********** companies invited to invest in Ukraine Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko is urging Australia’s mining sector and other companies to invest in his nation following concern about wavering US commitment. US President Donald Trump split from NATO and European allies and sided with Russia at the United Nations on the third anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, voting against a motion that laid blame at the Kremlin’s feet. The United States not supporting the motion, which called out Russian aggression and demanded the immediate withdrawal of troops, impacted its level of support at the General Assembly, Mr Myroshnychenko said. But the focused needed to be on results and that meant the US, Europe, Russia and Ukraine working together to achieve peace, he said. The European Union has deployed all diplomatic efforts to Washington to shore up support for Ukraine amid concerns of what could happen if the US withdrew support, the union’s ambassador to Australia Gabriele Visentin said. The *** and EU joining Australia and New Zealand in advocating to Pacific Islands countries to support Ukraine at the United Nations had been very successful, Mr Myroshnychenko said. Russia understood strength and it was trying to break the bond between the US and Europe in order to dismantle NATO and sow division within the EU, he said. “If Russia achieves what they want, that would be a world of chaos … where might is right, where the stronger one will have the power and in this world, Australia has no chance of surviving.” Mr Myroshnychenko said Ukraine had to be pragmatic and respond to the world as it was, inviting *********** companies to invest in mining and mineral extraction after Mr Trump pushed for a mineral deal to recoup US money spent on aid. “There is a moral argument in terms of security, democracy and helping Ukraine, helping the underdog who’s been bullied; it’s all valid but I think we have to talk about money,” he said. “This is an opportunity for *********** companies, for mining companies, to come and invest in Ukraine together with American companies.” The war had impacted global inflation and the cost of living but also benefited Australia with increased commodity prices that helped prop up the budget and that needed to be acknowledged, he said. The average estimate was Australia benefited to the tune of $100 billion in revenue because of the surging prices in the first two years of the war, he said. “All I want is an acknowledgement, because I’ve never heard any politician mention it even once,” Mr Myroshnychenko said. A pledge by the prime minister and opposition leader to visit Ukraine if they won the election was also reassuring, he said. But Australians had proved they hadn’t forgotten key values after the continual affirmations of support he had received, Mr Myroshnychenko said. An *********** pledge to donate 49 Abrams tanks will start to be delivered in the second half of 2025, with a plan to have them all on the ground by the end of the year, the Defence Department confirmed. Ukraine has requested Australia donate a retiring Tiger helicopter fleet, set to be decommissioned in 2027. Defence was working with Kyiv and three other nations that operate the Tiger about their ability to support the helicopter is a donation to Ukraine was agreed to, Major General Jeremy King said. Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation on Tuesday announced a further $5 million in Ukrainian aid, bringing its total support to $25 million as the billionaire branded Russia’s invasion “wholly offensive to civilisation”. “Ukraine has every right to protect its borders and the international community will be extremely short-sighted if it does not stand with Ukraine,” Mr Forrest said. Source link #*********** #companies #invited #invest #Ukraine Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Teacher & principal at SC school arrested following ******* battery of children, police say Teacher & principal at SC school arrested following ******* battery of children, police say Both the principal and a teacher at a charter school in Richland County were arrested Wednesday morning, according to the Irmo Police Department. Both 33-year-old Columbia resident Sulaymaan Benoit and 41-year-old Sumter resident Tina Shaw worked at Green Charter School of the Midlands where students were victims of sex crimes, police said in a news release. Benoit, the after school director and substitute teacher, was charged with eight counts of third-degree criminal ******* conduct, according to the release. He’s accused of fondling three students, who are between 7-12 years old, police said. Shaw, the principal, was charged with failure to report child abuse and two counts of assault & battery, according to the release. Those charges stem from failing to report child abuse in connection with the charges pending against Benoit and for conducting two “improper searches” on two students, police said. The investigation began when a parent contacted the Irmo Police Department to report an alleged assault of her child by Benoit, Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. He called the incidents non-consensual and lewd. Shaw failed to report the incident, reported to Irmo police by that parent Jan. 30, to law enforcement, Dale said. She reported it to her supervisor, but the police department was not informed by the school. During the investigation, police found Benoit had illegally searched two students in October 2024 and that the school had conducted an internal investigation of its own, but did not tell police. The chief said the fondling incidents date back to at least October of last year, but they believe it could’ve been going on since August. Sulaymaan Benoit, the after school director and substitute teacher at Green Charter School of the Midlands, was arrested for sex crimes involving minor students. Benoit has worked at the school for two years, according to the release. Shaw served as principal of the school for three years, according to her attorney, Johnathan Harvey. A message on Green Charter’s website said she has 16 years of experience in education. Benoit was given a $75,000 surety bond and Shaw posted a $50,000 surety bond at a Wednesday afternoon bond hearing, both with conditions that they remain at least 1,000 yards away from the school, the victims’ homes and places of worship. In addition, Benoit was ordered to not have any unsupervised contact with minors, and will be required to wear an ankle monitor, if he posts bond. Benoit is being held at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, jail records show. Tina Shaw, principal at Green Charter School of the Midlands, was arrested on charges of failure to report child abuse and two counts of assault & battery. Police said they believe there are more victims of the abuse. At the bond hearing, Irmo police said two other victims had come forward since the arrests. When asked at the press conference if more charges would be brought against other school officials, Dale said he couldn’t provide information on that at this time. “We are asking any current or former students and employees that know anything, to please contact our Investigations Division at 803-781-8088,” Irmo police said in their initial release. A spokesman for the South Carolina Public Charter School District told The State in a statement that the district was notified of the allegations against Benoit and Shaw by Irmo police on February 21. “Allegations of educators harming students deserve the highest levels of care and attention, and we are very concerned about the allegation that the school’s educators and administration failed to meet duties required by mandated reporter laws,” the spokesman said, adding that the district is investigatingwhether the school violated its charter or the law. Both the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division assisted Irmo police with the arrests. “Schools are the place our children should be safe and protected, not preyed upon” Chief Bobby Dale said in the release. “You have not one, but two employees who made this school unsafe and did not protect their students. Mandated Reporters are just that, MANDATED. Telling your human resources department does not absolve you of this duty. Law Enforcement and Department of Social Services must be made aware if you suspect abuse or neglect and that did not happen here. A parent notified this agency after the Principal was informed of the allegations against Mr. Benoit.” Benoit was placed on administrative leave Feb. 6 and has actively been searching for another job, according to his public defender, Hope Demer. Dale said Benoit has been on administrative leave since January. Green Charter School, at 7820 Broad River Road, teaches students from kindergarten through the 8th grade, according to its website. It’s a nonprofit charter management company under the jurisdiction of the South Carolina Public Charter School District. Source link #Teacher #principal #school #arrested #******* #battery #children #police Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Adobe Photoshop App for iPhone With Firefly-Powered Generative Fill Announced Adobe Photoshop App for iPhone With Firefly-Powered Generative Fill Announced Adobe Photoshop app was launched on Tuesday for iPhone users globally, years after its iPad counterpart was introduced. It takes some of the most nifty editing features provided by the US-based software company in its desktop application and brings them to its iOS app, enabling a mobile editing experience. Users can take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) features such as Generative Fill and Generative Expand which leverage Adobe’s Firefly AI model to add and remove content from photos or expand them using simple text prompts. The new Photoshop app for iPhone also adds core editing and imaging tools such as layering, masking, and access to Adobe assets, although several of them will require a Premium subscription. Adobe Photoshop App for iPhone: Availability, Price The Adobe Photoshop app is available for iPhone on the App Store as a free download. The company says its Android counterpart will be coming soon. Although it is free-to-use, several of its features are locked behind the Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. Its price in India starts at Rs. 799 per month or Rs. 6,900 per year for the new Photoshop Mobile and Web plan. It offers features such as Magic Wand, Generative Fill and Expand, Object Select, Content-Aware Fill, and Advanced blend modes. Adobe Photoshop App for iOS Features As per the company, the new Adobe Photoshop app for iOS has an easy-to-use mobile interface which allows creators to make edits on-the-go. Similar to its desktop counterpart, the mobile app brings tools for image editing and designing, enabling precise selections, targeted adjustments, and advanced colour corrections. With the free plan, users get 5GB of cloud storage to store their edits. Leveraging selections, layers and masks, users can combine, composite and blend images to create unique designs. Tools like Spot Healing Brush help remove distracting elements while the Tap Select tool can remove, replace, or re-colour parts of an image. Despite being a free-to-use app, Adobe has brought its AI-powered editing tools to the iPhone. The Generative Fill and Generative Expand features are powered by the company’s proprietary Firefly AI suite. The former analyses the image’s pixels to add or remove contents from images, matching the lighting, perspective, colouring, and shadow. Meanwhile, the latter tool is used for expanding images beyond their borders with AI-generated content based on textual prompts. Creators can access a free library of Adobe Stock assets to enhance their images. It also gets direct integration with other Adobe creative apps including Adobe Express, Adobe Fresco and Adobe Lightroom, enabling them to export images to the aforementioned platforms. Source link #Adobe #Photoshop #App #iPhone #FireflyPowered #Generative #Fill #Announced Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump administration to cut 92% of USAID foreign aid contracts – Axios Trump administration to cut 92% of USAID foreign aid contracts – Axios Trump administration to cut 92% of USAID foreign aid contracts AxiosThese countries could lose the most, if U.S. stops aid ReutersUSAID employees given 15 minutes to clear out offices The Hill Source link #Trump #administration #cut #USAID #foreign #aid #contracts #Axios Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Medibank customers to receive cash bank as part of the insurer’s commitment not to profit from Covid Medibank customers to receive cash bank as part of the insurer’s commitment not to profit from Covid Medibank customers will receive cash back as part of the insurer’s commitment not to profit from the Covid pandemic. Source link #Medibank #customers #receive #cash #bank #part #insurers #commitment #profit #Covid Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Convoy believed to be carrying remains of four Israeli hostages arrives at Tel Aviv forensics centre Convoy believed to be carrying remains of four Israeli hostages arrives at Tel Aviv forensics centre ****** handed over the bodies of four hostages to the Red Cross in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of ************ prisoners, days before the first phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was to end. A convoy believed to be carrying the remains of four Israeli hostages arrived at the National Center of Forensic Medicine before dawn. (AP video shot by Ibrahim Hamad, produced by Annika Wolters) Source link #Convoy #believed #carrying #remains #Israeli #hostages #arrives #Tel #Aviv #forensics #centre Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

China gears up for Two Sessions, to increase fiscal deficit China gears up for Two Sessions, to increase fiscal deficit BEIJING, CHINA – MARCH 5: A ******** policeman stands guard outside the Great Hall of the People before the opening ceremony of the National People’s Congress (NPC), or parliament, on March 5, 2005 in Beijing, China. Cancan Chu | Getty Images News | Getty Images China is expected to acknowledge a significant softening in domestic demand next week, while revealing highly anticipated details on fiscal stimulus aimed at shoring up growth in the face of heightened U.S. trade tensions. The country’s annual parliamentary gathering, known as the “Two Sessions,” starts on Tuesday with the ******** People’s Political Consultative Conference — a top advisory body — followed by the meeting of its legislature, the National People’s Congress. The gathering of delegates from across China for “Two Sessions” has lasted for about a week in recent years and is typically followed by a press conference with the foreign minister and heads of economic departments. At the opening meeting of the NPC on Wednesday, Beijing is expected to revise down its annual consumer price inflation target to around 2% — the lowest in more than two decades — from 3% or higher in prior years, according to the Asia Society Policy Institute. That marks an implicit recognition of modest domestic demand. The new inflation goal would act more as a ceiling than a target to be realized. China has been under deflationary pressure with nominal GDP growing slower than real GDP for the seventh straight quarter in the final quarter of 2024, Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie, said in a note. Consumer prices climbed just 0.2% in 2024 and 2023, while producer prices have declined for over two years. “Our thesis for this year is that deflation will be persistent,” Robin Xing, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley, told CNBC earlier this month. “China will try some new approach but … they will just try with small steps.” Beijing is unlikely to significantly boost stimulus until the second half of the year, when societal unhappiness with the economic slowdown likely becomes more widespread, Xing said. He noted how the September stimulus announcements came more than a year after deflationary trends first emerged. Investors have closely watched Beijing’s efforts to address the country’s economic slowdown after an unexpected, high-level pledge of support in September prompted a stock rally. Market gains picked up again after ******** President Xi Jinping held a rare meeting last week with entrepreneurs including Alibaba’s Jack Ma and DeepSeek’s Liang Wenfeng. Beijing on Wednesday will likely peg its budget deficit at 4% of GDP, up from 3% in 2024, Macquarie’s Hu said, echoing general market expectations. That would mark a “meaningful shift as policymakers have been reluctant to breach the 3% [deficit] threshold for many years,” Hu said. He also expects China to triple the quota for special sovereign bond sales to 3 trillion yuan ($410 billion) this year, from 1 trillion yuan in 2024, and increase the year’s quota for special local government bond issuance to 4.5 trillion yuan from 3.9 trillion yuan previously. China on Wednesday is also widely expected to set the year’s GDP growth target at “around 5%,” the same as the last two years. That would be consistent with Xi’s previously announced goal of roughly doubling the economy’s size from 2020 levels by 2035. But analysts caution that Beijing won’t likely go all out on stimulus given the uncertainty around trade tensions with the U.S. On top of continued tech restrictions, U.S. President Donald Trump has raised tariffs on ******** goods by 10%, and more duties could come as soon as April 2. That would cut into exports, a rare bright spot in China’s economy. “March is too early for any major policy stimulus, as policymakers need more time to see the actual impact of the trade war 2.0.,” Macquarie’s Hu said. “Their track record suggests that they can’t miss the GDP growth target, but they also don’t want to over-deliver. At this point, they will keep their cards close to the chest.” The high-profile meetings in Beijing would coincide with Trump’s speech at a joint session of Congress on March 4, where the U.S. president may go over his agenda and goals for the year. Consumption in focus While the world’s second-largest economy grew by 5% in 2024, retail sales growth fell sharply to 3.4% from 7.1% in 2023. The real estate drag persisted, with investments in the sector dropping by 10.6% last year, from the a year earlier. “We think the government is likely to prioritize ‘boosting consumption’ as the top policy task in the NPC meeting,” Tao Wang, chief China economist at UBS Investment Bank, said in a note. China has sought to boost consumption using trade-in subsidies to encourage purchases of select goods. Authorities in January expanded the trade-in program to include smartphones and more home appliances, with details on the size of subsidy support due out at the Two Sessions. With a larger budget deficit, Beijing could more than double the size of the consumer trade-in program from last year to over 300 billion yuan in subsidies, UBS’ Wang said. She also expects the government to address concerns about income by subsidizing families with young children, increasing pension payouts and raising the state’s contribution to its insurance program for ******** residents. At the upcoming meeting, China is also expected to release its spending plans for defense and technological development for the year ahead. Beijing is due this fall to begin formalizing its priorities for the next half decade of development, known as “five-year plans.” The current one ends this year. In China’s ********** Party-dominated system, the Two Sessions have not been the traditional venue for sharp policy shifts. Instead, direction-setting typically occurs at higher-level party meetings, such as the Third Plenum, last held in July 2024. Xi’s meeting with entrepreneurs last week, and new policies to support the private sector and foreign investment mark the first batch of changes made in the wake of the Third Plenum, said Markus Herrmann Chen, co-founder and managing director of China Macro Group. “Symbolically, this marks a quick and good start of progressing the reforms and releases a signal that reforms are in Beijing’s pipelines,” he said. Private sector support ******** authorities are reviewing the draft of a new law to support private, non-state-owned businesses, further details of which could emerge during the Two Sessions. In a proposed addition to the law, China would prohibit ad-hoc collection of fines from businesses, state media said this week. In a sign of how businesses have struggled with a range of fee extractions, public filings last year revealed cash-strapped local governments have asked companies to pay back taxes on operations as far back as 1994. The new law would go a long way toward giving businesses “stable legal expectations,” said Bruce Pang, adjunct associate professor at the ******** University of Hong Kong business school. At the parliamentary meeting, he also expects new measures focused on increasing investment opportunities for non-state-owned enterprises, and helping small-tech companies obtain financing more easily. Many analysts saw the presence of tech entrepreneurs at last week’s meeting with Xi as a strong signal that a regulatory crackdown on the internet companies was officially over. That shows going forward, “the state is willing to show regulatory leniency to technology firms, sparing them major crackdowns, in exchange for their investment in innovations in critical technologies,” said Chim Lee, senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. China’s anti-corruption probe of government officials and executives at state-owned companies for illicit behavior is still ongoing, however. More than 40 people have been removed, mostly on corruption allegations, as National People’s Congress delegates since the current term began in 2023, according to CNBC calculations of official figures. Source link #China #gears #Sessions #increase #fiscal #deficit Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nothing Phone 3a Design Revealed Ahead of March 4 Launch: Expected Specifications Nothing Phone 3a Design Revealed Ahead of March 4 Launch: Expected Specifications Nothing Phone 3a series is scheduled to debut in India and globally on March 4. Ahead of its anticipated launch, the British original equipment manufacturer (OEM) has now showcased the design of base model in the series dubbed the Nothing Phone 3a. While it shares several design elements with the Phone 3a Pro such as the Glyph interface, the handset’s rear camera module has a distinctly different appearance, giving the Phone 3a a more uniform look. Nothing Phone 3a Design Revealed In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Nothing shared a glimpse of the upcoming Phone 3a’s design. Unlike the Nothing Phone 3a Pro which features a large circular rear camera module with irregularly-placed lenses, the base model in the lineup will sport a pill-shaped unit horizontally placed at the back. It features three camera lenses. Phone (3a) Series. Technically refined. Enlightened in every aspect. pic.twitter.com/vDJlSh7Iyc — Nothing (@nothing) February 26, 2025 Meanwhile, the rest of the design is identical to the high-end model. The Nothing Phone 3a comes equipped with a Glyph interface surrounding the camera module — a feature that has become synonymous with Nothing smartphones. This development comes following the design reveal of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro on Monday and its unboxing carried out by 1X Technologies’ Neo Gemma humanoid. Nothing Phone 3a Specifications (Expected) As per past reports, the Nothing Phone 3a is expected to be offered in ****** and white colour options and reportedly carries the model number A059. It may be equipped with a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 SoC and a 6.72-inch AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate. For optics, the phone is speculated to sport a triple rear camera unit, comprising a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 50-megapixel telephoto sensor with 2x optical zoom, and an 8-megapixel ultra wide-angle shooter at the back. It is also tipped to feature a 32-megapixel sensor at the front for selfies and video calls. The phone is likely to pack a 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging support. Source link #Phone #Design #Revealed #Ahead #March #Launch #Expected #Specifications Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

President Trump’s first cabinet meeting was a display of deference to Elon Musk. – The New York Times President Trump’s first cabinet meeting was a display of deference to Elon Musk. – The New York Times President Trump’s first cabinet meeting was a display of deference to Elon Musk. The New York TimesTrump Administration Live Updates: Musk Shares Stage With Trump at First Cabinet Meeting The New York TimesElon Musk’s DOGE to ‘No NATO’ for Ukraine: Key takeaways from Donald Trump’s first cabinet meet Hindustan TimesSusie Wiles made ‘pecking order’ clear between Trump and Musk, Zeleny says CNNElon Musk takes aim at national debt, warns of ‘de facto bankruptcy’ without DOGE: ‘$2 trillion in deficits’ Fox Business Source link #President #Trumps #cabinet #meeting #display #deference #Elon #Musk #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]