UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s main airport as a civilian Airbus 320 with hundreds of passengers on board was landing and a U.N. delegation was waiting to leave, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official in Yemen said Friday. Julien Harneis told U.N. reporters that the most frightening thing about the two airstrikes on Thursday wasn’t their effect on him and about 15 others in the VIP lounge at the international airport in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, including the head of the U.N. World Health Organization. Rather, it was the destruction of the airport control tower as a Yemenia Airways plane was taxiing in after touching down. “Fortunately, that plane was able to land safely and the passengers were able to disembark, but it could have been far, far worse,” said Harneis, who was with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the lounge . He said one airstrike landed approximately 300 meters (330 yards) south of the VIP lounge and another about 300 meters to the north around 4:45 p.m., while about five members of the U.N. team were outside the building. “Not only obviously did we have zero indication of any potential airstrikes, but we cannot remember the last time there were airstrikes in Sanaa during daylight hours,” Harneis said in a video news conference from Sanaa. The U.N. said at least three people were killed and dozens injured in the strike. Among the injured was a crew member from the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service, which was about to fly the U.N. delegation of some 20 people out of Sanaa. He suffered a serious leg injury from shrapnel and lost a lot of blood, Harneis said. Immediately after the airstrikes, Harneis said, U.N. security officials moved the delegation out of the VIP building and into five armored cars where they waited for approximately 40 minutes to ascertain what happened and help the injured crew member. He was taken to a hospital in Sanaa and underwent four hours of surgery while the rest of the delegation spent the night in a U.N. compound, Harneis said. The U.N. plane with Tedros and the U.N. team, including the injured crew member, was able to depart for Jordan on Friday afternoon – without an operating control tower. The United Nations said the injured crew member was taken to a hospital in Jordan, and Tedros was heading back to Geneva, where WHO is based, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control Sanaa and much of the country’s north, have gone after Israel since it started attacking Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Gaza's Hamas militants on southern Israel. The Houthis have attacked ships in the Red Sea, disrupting one of the world’s main maritime routes, and recently stepped up missile and drone attacks on Israel . Israel has escalated its response. The Israeli army said it wasn’t aware that the WHO chief or U.N. delegation were at the Sanaa airport on Thursday. Israel said it bombed the airport because it is used by the Houthis and Iran. Harneis responded, stressing that the airport is civilian, not military, and is used for transporting U.N. and other humanitarian workers, and for one civilian flight — Yemenia to and from Amman, Jordan. The flight operates as a result of an international agreement, and thousands of Yemenis have used the flight to get advanced medical treatment abroad, he said. Yemen is the Arab world’s poorest nation and has been engulfed in a 10-year civil war between the Houthi rebels, who control Sanaa and much of the country's north, and the internationally recognized government forces in the south. Tedros was in the country to discuss its worsening humanitarian crisis and to seek the release of about 50 people detained by the Houthis since June from the U.N., nongovernmental organizations and civil society. Harneis said 18 million Yemenis — about half the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance this year, and the U.N. expects the number to increase to 19 million next year because of the worsening economy . In addition to airstrikes on the Sanaa airport, Israel has been attacking the country's key port of Hodeida, in western Yemen. Harneis said Yemen relies on imports through Hodeida for 80% of its food and more than 90% of its medical supplies to the north. A recent Israeli airstrike destroyed two tugboats and is estimated to have reduced the harbor's capacity by 50%, the U.N. official said, while damage from Thursday's airstrikes hasn't been assessed yet. As for the detainees, Harneis said he joined the WHO chief at meetings with the Houthi prime minister, foreign minister and a member of the group's Supreme Political Council. He said they received commitments on the detainees' possible release and a pathway to it, and on conditions under which they are being held.It's always a great time to invest in quality businesses that can prime your portfolio for long-term growth. It's important to be selective with the companies that you add to your portfolio and ensure that you only put cash into investments that align with your overall investment priorities, risk tolerance, and long-term goals. You should also only put cash to work that you can leave in your portfolio for a few years, not funds that you might soon need for bills or other financial obligations. On that note, if you're looking for top-notch growth stocks to buy right now and have $1,000 available to invest, here are two names to consider. 1. Eli Lilly Eli Lilly ( LLY -0.26% ) has been the darling of pharmaceutical stocks in the last 12 to 18 months, with shares rocketing upward as the popularity of its GLP-1 drugs has propelled revenue and earnings. Bear in mind, this is one of the oldest healthcare companies in the world, with a lineup of top-selling drugs across a range of disease categories that target everything from various cancers and cardiovascular ailments to endocrine disorders and neurological conditions. In the first nine months of 2024 alone, shares roared upward to the tune of about 62%. After the company reported its earnings for the third quarter of 2024, shares took a double-digit nosedive as investors responded negatively to a few key points, including a slight pullback in full-year guidance. The company also reported financial figures that were slightly below what Wall Street had expected. In terms of its full-year guidance, where Eli Lilly was targeting revenue for the 12-month period in the $45.4 billion to $46.6 billion range, the company is now projecting that it will deliver in the ballpark of $45.4 billion to $46 billion. Its Q3 revenue was around $800 million below what analysts had aimed for. That being said, a closer look is warranted, and the long-term outlook for this business is anything but dismal. Revenue in Q3 2024 rose 20% year over year to $11.4 billion. The company sold rights for its olanzapine portfolio in Q3, featuring products used to treat ailments such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. If you exclude revenue from this portfolio, Eli Lilly's top line actually jumped 42% on a year-over-year basis, which is a bit more than the 36% growth it reported in the second quarter. The company also reported net income of approximately $970 million in Q3. Tirzepatide, which is the main active ingredient in its top-selling drugs Mounjaro (for diabetes) and Zepbound (for weight loss), is being studied by Eli Lilly across multiple other disease areas. For example, positive phase 3 trial data from a 176-week study of tirzepatide demonstrated a 94% reduction in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in adults with pre-diabetes who are obese or overweight. Another first-of-its-kind study initiated by Eli Lilly has been studying tirzepatide in adults with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and obesity. In this phase 3 trial, tirzepatide reduced heart failure symptoms and physical limitations while lowering the risk of worsening heart failure events by 38%. Risk of hospitalization for heart failure was also reduced by 56% in trial patients taking tirzepatide. In short, the future revenue and profit opportunities from tirzepatide may be in the very early innings. In Q3, sales of Mounjaro rose more than 121% year over year to $3.1 billion, while Zepbound (which was just approved last November) raked in $1.3 billion in sales. This was despite negative effects for both drugs cited by Eli Lilly that were caused by inventory decreases in the wholesaler channel. Blockbuster cancer drug Verzenio generated $1.37 billion in sales in the quarter, up 32% from one year ago, while sales of autoimmune disease drug Taltz jumped 18% to $879.6 million. While investors appear to be particularly reactionary in the current environment, that can present an opportunity for those with a sufficient buy-and-hold horizon to take a slice of the action. While Eli Lilly doesn't trade at a cheap valuation by any means, its annual dividend of $5.20 and steady increase to its payout can augment total investor returns. Investors who want to become part-owner in a top healthcare business with a steady global footprint may be remiss to overlook this quality stock. 2. Monday.com Monday.com ( MNDY 3.02% ) is a low-code and no-code platform that helps organizations build the work management tools and software applications they need to ensure business operations run smoothly. The company derives its revenue from monthly or annual subscription agreements that it enters into with customers who use its cloud-based platform. Monday.com's software enables everything from project management and collaboration to helping keep tools and files in a single location for easy access. Clients with little to no coding experience can leverage its platform to develop customized workflow apps featuring boards, charts, and other important automation solutions. Companies like Canva, Lionsgate , and Coca-Cola are just a handful of the big names on Monday.com's client roster. Investors have been particularly optimistic about Monday.com's performance recently, with shares skyrocketing to the tune of about 50% over the trailing 12-month period. As always, share price is never a reason to buy (or sell) a stock. You need to look at the underlying business, its drivers and detractors of growth, its financial performance, its industry, and its long-term growth runway to gain a clear picture of whether it's a wise fit for your portfolio. In the case of Monday.com, the company has only been in business since 2012, so it's still in the relatively early stages of its potential growth story. Management estimates that the company operates in a large and growing total addressable market, which could hit a valuation of $150 billion by the year 2026. The diverse range of solutions that Monday.com's platform offers allows it to target various segments of its overall market opportunity, including the $30 billion customer relationship management (CRM) software market. From a financial perspective, Monday.com is doing quite well. Its third-quarter revenue rose 33% from the year-ago period to $251 million, and the company officially surpassed the $1 billion annual recurring revenue (ARR) mark. Its overall net dollar retention rate (NRR) increased to 111%, while NRR for customers with more than $100,000 in ARR was 115%. The number of paid customers with more than $100,000 in ARR jumped 44% from one year ago. Meanwhile, the company's second-largest customer, which is an unnamed international technology company, more than doubled its seat count to 60,000 from 25,000. Although Monday.com is not profitable on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles ( GAAP ), cash flow is another core profitability metric to consider. From a free cash flow perspective, the company raked in $82.4 million of free cash flow, while net cash provided by operating activities was $86.6 million in Q3. While investors may need a certain level of risk tolerance to invest in software stocks, this resilient business looks like a compelling addition to a well-diversified portfolio.
China set to narrow digital divideU.S. President-elect Donald Trump thrust himself into the high-stakes fight over the fate of TikTok in the United States by urging the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban the social media platform if it isn’t sold by its Chinese parent company. Trump said the court should give him time after his Jan. 20 inauguration to "seek a negotiated resolution” of the dispute. He didn’t take a firm position on the constitutionality of the law that’s set to take effect Jan. 19, though he said it raised "sweeping and troubling” free speech concerns. Trump told the justices that only he "possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the government.”"Discover the dynamic intersection of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, where innovative drug-device combinations are revolutionizing healthcare. BCC Research Study Projects 9.1% CAGR, with Market Growth from $129.4 Billion in 2024 to $199.8 Billion by 2029" BOSTON , Dec. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest study from BCC Research, the demand for Global Markets for Drug-Device Combinations is expected to grow from $129.4 billion in 2024 to nearly $200 billion by the end of 2029, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1% during the forecast period of 2024 to 2029. Drug-device combinations combine pharmaceutical drugs with medical devices to improve the effectiveness of treatments and convenience for patients. This report provides a thorough analysis of the market for drug-device combinations, analyzing trends from 2021, estimates for 2024, and projections from 2024 to 2029. It explores the future potential of these products, examines the competitive landscape, and covers regulatory aspects, market drivers, challenges, opportunities , and emerging technologies. The report also assesses the market shares of the leading companies. This report will prove to be valuable for all companies in the market, including recent entrants, government agencies, and other organizations interested in drug-device combinations. It offers insights into the markets of various regions, making it useful for companies looking to expand their geographic reach. Interesting Facts about Drug-Device Combinations Smart Biomaterials : Smart biomaterials are transforming precision medicine by responding to the body's signals to release drugs exactly when needed. Advances in nanotechnology and gene therapy are making personalized drug delivery more effective, improving patient outcomes and reducing side effects. This technology shows promise for treating conditions like Alzheimer's and certain cancers. Innovative Drug Delivery Solutions : The company ArQ-Bios is tackling the challenges of delivering high-dose, high-viscosity, and high-volume medications. Its innovative device designs allow patients to administer treatments at home easily and accurately, reducing the risk of errors. This is especially important as the demand for home-based care and self-administered biotherapeutics continues to grow. To gain more insights into Global Markets for Drug-Device Combinations, click here Factors contributing to the growth of this market include: Wide range of potential applications : Combination products, which integrate drugs and medical devices, have a wide range of potential applications. These products can be used in many medical fields They can be used for targeted drug delivery in cancer treatment, to provide controlled release of medications for chronic conditions, or combine diagnostic tools with therapies for more personalized healthcare. Growing prevalence of chronic diseases . : More people are being diagnosed with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease , and cancer. This growing prevalence is due to factors such as aging populations, unhealthy lifestyles, and better diagnostic tools. As these long-term illnesses become more common, there is a greater need for effective treatments and healthcare solutions to manage them. Integrating homecare trends with drug delivery advance: Patients are gaining more control over their own healthcare due to trends in homecare and advanced drug delivery technologies. These advances allow patients to administer their treatments at home, making healthcare more convenient and accessible. This integration means patients can manage their conditions more effectively without frequent visits to healthcare facilities. Request a Sample Copy of Global Markets for Drug-Device Combinations Report Synopsis Market Segmentation The global market for drug-device combinations can be segmented by: 1. Product Type Drug/biologic-device combination products Drug/biologic-device combination products include a range of items such as drug-eluting stents (DES) for keeping arteries open, prefilled syringes (PFS) for easy injections, inhalers and nebulizers for respiratory treatment, wound care products for faster healing, implants for various medical needs, antimicrobial catheters to prevent infections, transdermal patches for continuous drug delivery through the skin, and photodynamic therapy for targeted treatments. These products combine medications with medical devices to enhance treatment effectiveness and patient convenience. Drug-biologic combination products Drug-biologic combination products include antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which link antibodies to drugs for targeted cancer treatment, and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which are designed to specifically target and neutralize harmful pathogens or cancer cells. These products combine the benefits of biologics with drugs to enhance treatment precision and effectiveness. 2. Application: Applications for drug-device combinations include areas such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, respiratory conditions, and wound care products. It also includes oncology for cancer treatment, orthopaedic diseases for bone and joint issues, and other specialized areas. This report on drug-device combinations addresses the following questions: Innovative Startups CraniUS : Based in Baltimore, Md. , CraniUS is a neuroscience-focused startup developing a groundbreaking device that delivers medicine directly to the brain. This innovative implant bypasses the blood-brain barrier using a novel wireless charging system, making it highly effective for treating chronic brain diseases. In October 2022 , CraniUS raised $19.4 million in a Series A funding round from private investors. Emergent BioSolutions : Emergent BioSolutions' announced that Narcan Naloxone HCl Nasal Spray 4 mg became available over-the-counter nationwide and online starting in September 2023 . Easy accessibility to this type of product is crucial for responding to opioid emergencies, especially given the high rate of overdoses from synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Narcan Nasal Spray can help reverse opioid effects while emergency services are on the way. Leading companies in the market include: SMITH+NEPHEW TERUMO CORP. STRYKER MEDTRONIC JOHNSON & JOHNSON SERVICES INC. BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP. Becton Dickinson B. BRAUN SE ABBOTT 3M Related reports include: Conventional and Alternative Pain Treatment Markets : This report includes a detailed competitive analysis, market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and emerging technologies. The market is segmented by pain management type into pharmaceuticals and devices and by application into pain types such as orthopedic, surgical, and cancer pain. The market is divided into the regions of North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Latin America , and the Middle East and Africa , with specific country data provided. Market projections extend to 2029. Chronic Disease Management: Therapeutics, Device Technologies, and Global Markets : This report segments the market by product type (pharmaceuticals, biologics, medical devices, and digital therapeutics), application (disease categories such as cancer and cardiovascular conditions), end user (hospitals, home care), and geographic region ( North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW). The report also examines market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and the competitive landscape, including the market shares of leading companies. Directly purchase a copy of the report from BCC Research. For further information or to purchase, please contact [email protected] . About BCC Research BCC Research reports provide objective, unbiased measurement and assessment of market opportunities. Our industry analysts' goal is to help you readers make informed business decisions, free of noise and hype. Contact Us Corporate HQ: 50 Milk St., Ste. 16, Boston, MA 02109, USA Email: [email protected] , Phone: +1 781-489-7301 For media inquiries, email [email protected] or visit our media page for access to our market research library. Data and analysis extracted from this press release must be accompanied by a statement identifying BCC Research LLC as the source and publisher. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183242/BCC_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE BCC Research LLC
Elon Musk blew up a near-complete bipartisan budget deal with an avalanche of tweets contending that it was too costly, luring Donald Trump into demanding that Republicans kill it. But Musk’s real reason— —was that the agreement included painstakingly negotiated limits on American tech investment in China. Had that provision passed, it would have been costly to Musk’s extensive Chinese Tesla operations and future AI plans. Between Tuesday and Thursday, the budget deal collapsed. Trump, following Musk’s lead, threw in a new demand that the deal tackle the debt ceiling, always a politically tricky vote. But neither Democrats nor Republican fiscal hawks would give Trump that. In the end, legislators of both parties wanted to get home for Christmas, and both houses overwhelmingly passed a simple “continuing resolution” keeping the government funded at roughly present levels through March, plus disaster relief and farm aid. Musk succeeded in stripping out the China provision. Collateral damage included the loss of a bipartisan measure constraining abuses by pharmacy benefit managers, another limiting hotel and ticketing junk fees, and about a hundred other bipartisan agreements. (Late night, the Senate did manage to pass two bills that were jettisoned from the deal but had already passed the House: one of several provisions funding pediatric cancer research, and another transferring ownership of the derelict RFK Stadium to Washington, D.C.) The mainstream media focused on the tick-tock of whether the government would shut down, on Musk’s surprising influence, and the issue of the debt ceiling—but totally missed the China investment provision that was the real driver of the dispute. Now some of the more exemplary scribes, from to , are picking it up. Did Trump miss it? Let’s recall that Trump is a ferocious China hawk. Stopping U.S. investment in sensitive technologies that could help China has been a key element of the agenda for serious China experts in both parties. On that issue, Musk won and Trump was rolled. Trump’s own goal in the budget deal, as noted, was the debt ceiling. The failure to get that will come back to haunt him when the nation’s borrowing limit expires next summer. House Republicans privately discussed a deal in a future reconciliation bill to exchange a $1.5 trillion debt ceiling increase for $2.5 trillion in mandatory spending cuts—think Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, and veterans benefits. (By law, Social Security cannot be altered in reconciliation.) That will prove politically toxic, even to Republicans. So Democrats will probably have some future leverage on the debt ceiling. House leader Hakeem Jeffries is already talking about , a good idea that would end future MAGA hostage-taking. In contrast to Trump, Musk played his hand in a way that made sure that he won his objective, and didn’t mind sacrificing Trump’s. In blessing the revised deal, which passed the House late Friday, 366-34, and the Senate, 85-11, Musk disingenuously praised Congress for drastically shrinking the total spending. This was total bullshit, since the budget numbers of the original deal and final one were almost identical. But shrinking spending wasn’t the goal: Keeping the government out of his China business was. In short, Musk outplayed Trump. Musk is not the sort of guy you can take to the woodshed. And the inaugural is still a month away. There will be more conflicts between the goals of President Musk and those of President Trump. Some of the slash-and-burn budget-cutting that Musk is proposing—Social Security, Medicare, economic development, and small-business aid—will enrage Republican legislators and governors, and threaten base Republican constituents, not to mention the deep differences over unfolding China policy. Who will outplay whom then?The JVP-led NPP government has failed to carry out its promise to import rice due to some flaws in the process of preparing tenders. It has asked for some more time to bring in the promised rice from India. Private traders have already imported 72,000 MT of rice. The state sector stands exposed for its inefficiency. Is it that the new government is not competent enough to carry out even a simple task like importing rice, which successive governments resorted to, as an ad hoc measure, to address the issue of escalating prices of rice, instead of taming the Millers’ Mafia? Why the incumbent administration has botched the process of tendering for rice imports defies comprehension. Has anyone scuttled the government’s import plan in support of the private sector importers, as alleged by the Opposition, and some consumer rights protection groups, which have called for a probe? It has been pointed out in Parliament that the government is taxing imported rice at the rate of Rs. 65 a kilo and boosting its revenue instead of making a serious effort to make rice available at affordable prices vis-à-vis market manipulations by the Millers’ Mafia. The Opposition has alleged that some powerful millers are also among the rice importers, and they are getting the best of both worlds. Close on the heels of the JVP-led NPP’s victory in the last presidential election, the owner of Araliya Rice, Dudley Sirisena, who is one of the wealthy millers blamed for manipulating rice/paddy markets and exploiting farmers and consumers alike, promised at a media briefing to ensure that there would be enough rice in the market at the then maximum retail prices stipulated by the Consumer Affairs Authority. The medium/small scale millers panicked and released all their rice stocks to the market, but the millers’ cartel did not do so and is now making the most of the artificially created rice scarcity to earn unconscionable profits. The government, in its wisdom, increased the maximum retail prices of rice by Rs. 10 and played into the hands of the rice hoarders. As a result, the price of nadu rice has increased from Rs. 230 much to the glee of the powerful millers! The price of this particular variety of rice, which is popular among a majority of Sri Lankans, was about Rs. 180 before the 21 September presidential election. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and other JVP/NPP stalwarts have gone on record as saying that the country has produced enough paddy, and the rice shortage is due to hoarding, but the government has baulked at taking on the hoarders and is trying band-aid remedies. The government has extended the deadline for rice imports until 10 Jan. 2025. The large-scale millers will ensure that more rice is imported before the commencement of the next harvesting period so that they can release some of their stocks, flood the rice market, bring down the prices of rice and exploit farmers by purchasing paddy at cheaper rates. Thereafter, they will hoard their paddy, causing the prices of rice to rise. They also leverage their influence derived from their financial prowess to delay bank loans for small/medium-scale millers so that the latter cannot begin purchasing paddy when harvesting commences. Previous governments did not care to put an end to the powerful millers’ sordid operations, and the people expected the incumbent administration to be different due to its rhetoric and numerous promises. That is why they voted overwhelmingly for it in last month’s general election, enabling it to secure a two-thirds majority in Parliament. But the millers’ cartel with political connections and huge slush funds, continues to call the shots. Have the people been taken for a ride again?
Dan Walters: How three Trump policy decrees could affect California agricultureThe richest person in the world just hit an even higher milestone. Elon Musk’s net worth has reached US$400 billion, according to Bloomberg, making him the first person ever to cross that mark. Behind his nearly US$20 billion jump in wealth was a deal that shot up Musk’s rocket company SpaceX’s valuation to roughly US$350 billion, Bloomberg reported Tuesday . SpaceX and its investors agreed to purchase as much as US$1.25 billion of insider shares. CNN has reached out to SpaceX for comment, but the company typically does not respond to media requests. Since the aftermath of the 2024 US presidential election, Musk has enjoyed a huge surge in his personal wealth. An alliance with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has pushed his ventures to the forefront. Musk is the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the owner of X and CEO of other ventures, including Neuralink, xAI and the Boring Company. Now, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, he will oversee a new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), named after a memecoin. Tesla shares closed at a record high on Wednesday, hitting US$424.77 at market close. Musk, who is Tesla’s largest individual shareholder, has also enjoyed the stock propelling higher in part due to the broader market — NASDAQ topped 20,000 for the first time ever Wednesday. Since Election Day, the EV maker’s stock has rallied roughly 65 per cent on investors’ belief that Musk’s influence in the Trump administration will usher in an era of deregulation that will benefit the company. His artificial intelligence startup, xAI, also more than doubled in value in November amid a new funding round, surging to $50 billion from a few months ago, according to the Wall Street Journal . The world’s wealthiest man is now roughly US$136 billion richer since November 5, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index . While the top spots on the billionaires index typically switch around, Musk is racing past his wealthy peers. As of December 10, before his wealth skyrocketed to US$400 billion, he was already US$140 billion richer than the second-richest man on Earth, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Musk’s record-breaking Tesla-shareholder-approved pay package, which was worth US$101 billion, was rejected by a Delaware court last week. Bloomberg’s calculation still seems to include the pay package, which is now worth as much as US$120 billion based on the current value of Tesla shares. But Musk will still enjoy his riches, with numerous ways to gain significantly more wealth in the coming years.
Accenture plc ( NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report ) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $368.23. Several brokerages have recently commented on ACN. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Piper Sandler Companies restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $329.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Accenture from $377.00 to $389.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Accenture from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. View Our Latest Stock Report on ACN Insiders Place Their Bets Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Accenture during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Accenture by 607.1% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 99 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock. Accenture Stock Down 0.7 % Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $358.66 on Wednesday. Accenture has a 52-week low of $278.69 and a 52-week high of $387.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $356.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.98. Accenture ( NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The information technology services provider reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 11.20%. Accenture’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Accenture will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current year. Accenture Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.79%. Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 26th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to buy up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued. Accenture Company Profile ( Get Free Report Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Accenture Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Accenture and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .WASHINGTON: Donald Trump has urged the United States Supreme Court to pause a federal TikTok law that would ban the popular social media app or force its sale, with the Republican US president-elect arguing that he should have time after taking office to pursue a "political resolution" to the issue. TikTok and its owner ByteDance are fighting to keep the popular app online in the US after Congress voted in April to ban it unless the app's Chinese parent company sells it by Jan 19. They have sought to have the law struck down and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. But if the court does not rule in ByteDance's favour and no divestment occurs, the app could be effectively banned in the US on Jan 19, one day before Trump takes office. "This case presents an unprecedented, novel, and difficult tension between free-speech rights on one side, and foreign policy and national security concerns on the other," Trump said in a filing on Friday (Dec 27). "Such a stay would vitally grant President Trump the opportunity to pursue a political resolution that could obviate the court's need to decide these constitutionally significant questions," the filing added. Free speech advocates separately told the Supreme Court on Friday that the US law against Chinese-owned TikTok evokes the censorship regimes put in place by the US' authoritarian enemies. Trump indicated earlier this week that he favoured allowing TikTok to keep operating in the US for at least a little while, saying he had received billions of views on the social media platform during his presidential campaign. The US Justice Department has argued that Chinese control of TikTok poses a continuing threat to national security, a position supported by most US lawmakers. TikTok says the Justice Department has misstated the social media app's ties to China, arguing that its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the US on cloud servers operated by Oracle, while content moderation decisions that affect American users are made in the US as well.
Politician fired after explicit video meant for her husband circulatesWASHINGTON -- Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) recently bestowed awards upon a number people who have championed roadway safety during their 35th anniversary celebration. Members of Congress, federal and state government leaders, and citizen activists who have fought tirelessly to achieve safe vehicles, safe road users and safe roadway environments were honored for their efforts at a reception on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Hutto S.C. State Sen. Brad Hutto (D) was also among those celebrated for contributions to safety with a Highway Safety Hero award. The Senator Frank R. Lautenberg Highway Safety Leadership Award, first commissioned in 2014 to honor the late Senator’s lifesaving legacy, was presented to the Office of The Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) for the issuance of a Final Rule requiring new vehicles to be equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has found this technology holds remarkable promise to reduce crashes. This requirement will ensure that more families have access to the safest braking systems more quickly and that it meets a government safety standard. Advocates also presented a Highway Safety Hero – Lifetime Achievement Award to three Members of Congress for their impressive tenure working on behalf of safety throughout their time in public service: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Banking Committee, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer. Additionally, Advocates presented Highway Safety Hero awards to members of Congress for their oversight of the directives in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Pub. L. 117-58) and other safety efforts. Awardees are U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Kevin Mullin (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD). Others were celebrated for their contributions to safety with a Highway Safety Hero award including National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, State Sens. Javier L. Cervantes (D-IL), Nilsa I. Cruz-Perez (D-NJ), Donovan Fenton (D-NH) Brad Hutto (D-SC) and Dean Rummel (R-ND), State Representatives/Assemblymembers Rep.-Elect Laura Friedman (D-CA), Jeff Johnson (R-SC), Michael J. Kelly (D-IL), Weston Newton (R-SC), Samantha Sencer-Mura (D-MN) and G. Murrell Smith Jr. (R-SC), and Mercer County Executive Dan Benson (D-NJ). Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.While homelessness across the United States increased by a dramatic 18% in 2024 compared to a year earlier, the Los Angeles region was among a handful of areas bucking the national trend — with a 5% drop in unsheltered homelessness over the same period, the first such drop in seven years, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Friday. HUD’s 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates — an annual snapshot of the number of people in shelters, temporary housing or unsheltered settings — found more than 770,000 people nationwide were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, an 18% increase from 2023. According to HUD, the nationwide increase in homelessness in 2024 was tied to migration, displacement by natural disasters such as the Maui fire, and rising costs of housing. However, Los Angeles was among jurisdictions, including as Dallas and Chester County, Pennsylvania, marked by a decrease in people experiencing homelessness, HUD data found. Struggling with a high-cost rental market, Los Angeles increased the availability of housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, combining federal, state, county and city funds, according to the federal agency. “This crisis has been decades in the making, but after years of increases, we’ve turned the corner with the first decrease in street homelessness in years, by acting with innovative solutions that have resulted in thousands more people inside and more housing being built throughout the city,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “There’s still more work to do and this urgent work will continue in 2025.” The Los Angeles region, meanwhile, remained at the top continuums of care in California with people experiencing homelessness — an overall 71,201 homeless individuals, consisting of both sheltered and unsheltered, according to HUD data. Moreover, California, the state with the country’s highest population, also led the U.S. in the number of homeless people, followed by New York, Washington, Florida and Massachusetts. The city and county of San Diego stood at 10,605, followed by San Jose/Santa Clara at 10,394; Oakland, Berkeley/Alameda County at 9,450; San Francisco at 8,323; and Santa Ana, Anaheim/Orange County at 7,322. Nationwide, family homelessness increased by 39% compared to 2023. The homelessness count was done during a period of significant increases in rental costs, as a result of the pandemic and nearly decades of under-building of housing, HUD said. The Maui fire, among other natural disasters, led to an increase in homelessness. In Hawaii, more than 5,200 people were sleeping in disaster emergency shelters on the night of the count. Meanwhile, veterans experiencing homelessness decreased nearly 8% nationwide from 35,574 in 2023 to 32,882 in 2024, according to HUD’s data. The figure for unsheltered veterans dropped nearly 11% — from 15,507 in 2023 to 13,851 in 2024. In the LA region, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s 2024 homelessness count showed a 22.9% decrease in veteran homelessness. Bass’ office cited several initiatives — in partnership with federal leaders — that led to this decline, such as boosting participation in a veteran housing voucher program, HUD-VASH and making changes policy changes regarding veterans’ benefits. “Los Angeles is one of the few communities in the country that saw a decrease in homelessness,” LAHSA CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum said in a statement. “What’s happening in L.A. is working.” “Now is not the time to go backward,” she continued. “Our community must redouble its efforts in pursuing what we know works to bring all our unsheltered neighbors home.” According to the agency, its 2024 homelessness count found that majority, about 54%, of people who became homeless cited economic hardship as one of the main reasons they lost their home.
Cinematic signs of the timesNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti leaked specs tease 8960 CUDA cores and 300W power
NEW YORK (AP) — In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs — including Apple’s Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — have joined a parade of business and world leaders in trying to improve their standing with President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January. “The first term, everybody was fighting me,” Trump said in remarks at Mar-a-Lago . “In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.” Tech companies and leaders have now poured millions into his inauguration fund, a sharp increase — in most cases — from past pledges to incoming presidents. But what does the tech industry expect to gain out of their renewed relationships with Trump? Clearing the way for AI development A clue to what the industry is looking for came just days before the election when Microsoft executives — who’ve largely tried to show a neutral or bipartisan stance — joined with a close Trump ally, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, to publish a blog post outlining their approach to artificial intelligence policy. “Regulation should be implemented only if its benefits outweigh its costs,” said the document signed by Andreessen, his business partner Ben Horowitz, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the company’s president, Brad Smith. They also urged the government to back off on any attempt to strengthen copyright laws that would make it harder for companies to use publicly available data to train their AI systems. And they said, “the government should examine its procurement practices to enable more startups to sell technology to the government.” Trump has pledged to rescind President Joe Biden’s sweeping AI executive order, which sought to protect people’s rights and safety without stifling innovation. He hasn’t specified what he would do in its place, but his campaign said AI development should be “rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.” Easier energy for data centers Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, has spoken openly about the need to boost electricity production to meet increased demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. “The AI battle affects everything from defense to healthcare to education to productivity as a country,′′ Burgum said on Nov. 15, referring to artificial intelligence. “And the AI that’s coming in the next 18 months is going to be revolutionary. So there’s just a sense of urgency and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration′′ to address it. Demand for data centers ballooned in recent years due to the rapid growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, and local governments are competing for lucrative deals with big tech companies. But as data centers begin to consume more resources, some residents are pushing back against the world’s most powerful corporations over concerns about the economic, social and environmental health of their communities. Changing the antitrust discussion “Maybe Big Tech should buy a copy of ‘The Art of The Deal’ to figure out how to best negotiate with this administration,” suggested Paul Swanson, an antitrust attorney for the law firm Holland & Hart. “I won’t be surprised if they find ways to reach some accommodations and we end up seeing more negotiated resolutions and consent decrees.” Although federal regulators began cracking down on Google and Facebook during Trump’s first term as president — and flourished under Biden — most experts expect his second administration to ease up on antitrust enforcement and be more receptive to business mergers. Google may benefit from Trump’s return after he made comments on the campaign trail suggesting a breakup of the company isn’t in the U.S. national interest, after a judge declared its search engine an illegal monopoly . But recent nominations put forward by his transition team have favored those who have been critical of Big Tech companies, suggesting Google won’t be entirely off the hook. Fending off the EU Cook’s notoriously rocky relationship with the EU can be traced back to a 2016 ruling from Brussels in a tax case targeting Apple. Cook slammed the bloc’s order for Apple to pay back up to $13.7 billion in Irish back taxes as “total political crap.” Trump, then in his first term as president, piled on, referring to the European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who was spearheading a campaign on special tax deals and a crackdown on Big Tech companies, as the “tax lady” who “really hates the U.S.” Brussels was eventually vindicated after the bloc’s top court rejected Apple’s appeal this year, though it didn’t stop Cook from calling Trump to complain, Trump recounted in a podcast in October. Trump hosted Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. Neither Apple nor the Trump transition team has commented on the nature of their discussions. Making amends? Altman , Amazon and Meta all pledged to donate $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund. During his first term, Trump criticized Amazon and railed against the political coverage at The Washington Post, which billionaire Bezos owns. Meanwhile, Bezos had criticized some of Trump’s past rhetoric. In 2019, Amazon also argued in a court case that Trump’s bias against the company harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract. More recently, Bezos has struck a more conciliatory tone. He recently said at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York that he was “optimistic” about Trump’s second term, while also endorsing president-elect’s plans to cut regulations. The donation from Meta came just weeks after Zuckerberg met with Trump privately at Mar-a-Lago. During the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate for president, but voiced a more positive stance toward Trump. Earlier this year, he praised Trump’s response to his first assassination attempt. Still, Trump in recent months had continued to attack Zuckerberg publicly. And Altman, who is in a legal dispute with AI rival Elon Musk, has said he is “not that worried” about the Tesla CEO’s influence in the incoming administration. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits.
Eagles stars Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown say relationship is 'good' after teammate suggests fissureWhat does Big Tech hope to gain from warming up to Trump?
Cambodia’s economy grew 5.6 per cent in 2023 and is projected to rise to 5.8 per cent in 2024, driven by garment, footwear, and tourism exports. In June, the World Bank admired Cambodia’s economic activity, which peaked in the first quarter of 2024, driven by a revival of services and goods exports despite subdued domestic demand. The country’s economic growth has been 5.6 per cent in 2023, which is expected to improve marginally to 5.8 per cent in 2024, strengthen to 6.1 per cent in 2025 and reach 6.4 per cent in 2026. The projections are based on a revival in garment, travel goods, footwear exports, and tourism expected to propel the ongoing recovery. While the international tourist arrivals improved in the first quarter to 84 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, the exports of garments, travel goods, and footwear rebounded with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region emerging as Cambodia’s second largest export market after the US. Rising foreign investment in manufacturing and agriculture also contributed to the recovery. Inflation also declined to zero in March with deceleration in food prices. Later in October, IMF (International Monetary Fund) projected economic growth in 2024 at 5.5 per cent. However, the growth drivers – strong rebound in garment and tourism as also observed by the World Bank, remained common in both projections. The inflation projection is around 1.5 per cent prior to an expected convergence to the long-term trend of 3 per cent. In the first half, the inflation moderated to an average of 1.6 per cent, y-o-y. IMF recommended structural reforms to diversify growth drivers and improve productivity. January-September trade The international sales (exports) of various articles of apparel and clothing accessories – both knitted and non-knitted, footwear gaiters, leather and fur goods, as well as some processed textiles, reached $966.98 million in the month of January, accounting for 49.16 per cent of Cambodia’s total export value of $1,967 million. This was 21.64 per cent up from January 2023 and attributed to the global recovery towards the end of 2023, a decrease in the stock levels of textile products at overseas companies, and revitalisation of global tourism, which boosted the demand for GFT products in key markets of the US, EU, Japan, Canada and the UK. By February end, Cambodia cumulatively exported more than $1.6 billion worth of textile products to international markets, surging by nearly a quarter compared to the same period in 2023. The increase in exports was also due to an increase in shipments to member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Between January and May 2024, Cambodia exported $4.969 billion worth of garments, footwear and travel goods (GFT), growing by 20% y-o-y. In this, combined exports of apparel and textiles accounted for $3.628 billion, rising 22 per cent y-o-y. The positive trend marked a turnaround after 18 months of continuous decline. The GFT sector comprises around 1,680 factories and branches, employing nearly 918,000 workers, mostly female. Export of footwear was worth $615 million—up by 10 per cent YoY, while the figure for travel goods was $726 million—up by 18.8 per cent y-o-y. During the five-month period, the country’s total trade volume increased 12.5 per cent over $19.2 billion during the same period last year. Combining all three quarters from January to September, Cambodia exported textile products, encompassing knitted articles of apparel and clothing accessories (HS Code 61), non-knitted articles (Code 62), other textiles (Code 63), and footwear and gaiters (Code 64), worth $8.758 billion which reflected a 24.51 per cent increase over $7.034 billion (2023). This represented 44.16 per cent of the country’s total export revenue of $19.833 billion. Code 61 products generated revenue of $5.034 billion (up 21.5 per cent), Code 62 amounted to $2.353 billion (up 31.9 per cent), Code 63 accounted for $155.69 million (up 37.7 per cent), and Code 64 brought in $1.214 billion (up 22.4 per cent). The growth in exports over 2023 was largely attributed to Cambodia’s political stability within ASEAN, especially in comparison to Bangladesh and Myanmar. The country’s favourable investment laws, the efficiency of its workers and the availability of skilled labour, the quality and quantity of production, improved transportation infrastructure, and a growing number of international buyers were other major growth drivers. The country also attracted many foreign financiers who are currently investing in textile manufacturing. In terms of country (not region), Canada remained the fourth largest market, after the top three of the US, Japan and Spain, for Cambodian apparel exports during the first six months of 2024. Cambodia’s total apparel exports totalled $5.548 billion, and Canada accounted for 8.29 per cent of the total. During the period, Canada was supplied with apparel worth $452.916 million, with trousers and shorts having the largest share of 36.06 per cent and valued at $163.392 million. Among other apparel categories, jerseys, valued at $74.217 million, had a 16.39 per cent share in total apparel exports; T-shirts amounted to $38.560 million, contributing 8.51 per cent; shirts were worth $31.012 million, had a 6.85 per cent share; and coats, valued at $20.969 million, contributed 4.63 per cent share. EU-switch garment project The four-year tenure of the EU-Switch Garment Project, which promoted sustainable energy practices in the Cambodian garment sector, ended in May. The European Union SWITCH-Asia Grants Programme funded the project. It jointly implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), TAFTAC (Textile, Apparel, Footwear & Travel Goods Association), and Geres in partnership with the MoE (Ministry of Environment) and MISTI (Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation). The event was attended by over 100 participants and featured the project’s detailed achievements, and networking opportunities to discuss the future of sustainable garment production in Cambodia. The EU-Switch Garment project aimed to improve the environmental sustainability of the country’s garment industries by offering technical assistance in the form of energy audits, capacity building, technical guidelines, and improved financing access. During the tenure, the Model Green Factory Program—a voluntary tool to become a greener factory—was developed, acknowledged by MoE and MISTI, and adopted by TAFTAC for implementation. The project also contributed to bringing sector stakeholders together to enhance better access to finance. The National Steering Committee held its first meeting on June 20, 2024 in Phnom Penh, chaired by the Permanent Secretary of State, MoE. At the meeting, the Committee members listed work streams for 2024-2025 and decided to focus on two priority work streams that are expected to have a significant impact on Cambodia’s green economic transaction efforts: Enhancing the Government’s technical capacity in economic foresight and fiscal policy: This work stream would support policymakers in using data to make informed decisions and in systematically assessing the economic, social, and environmental impacts of fiscal and economic decisions. Additionally, integrated planning, modelling, and sustainable budgeting would help the Cambodian Government optimise resources, attract new financing, and align with development priorities. Promoting a circular economy with a focus on reducing single-use plastics and implementing the 4R principles within the garment industry: This work stream would aim to decarbonise the garment sector by reducing carbon emissions through technological innovation, aligning with the UNFCCC Fashion Charter principles. It focuses on reducing fabric waste, promoting circular fashion, and supporting the government’s target to reduce plastic use and promote the 4R principles as part of the Circular Strategy on Environment 2023-2028. On the occasion, PAGE (Partnership for Action on Green Economy) also presented a summary brief, developed based on the last year’s policy scoping study conducted in collaboration with the Cambodian Development Resource Institute, outlining five priorities that serve as a roadmap for policymakers and stakeholders to identify the obstacles and opportunities for fostering a green economic transition in Cambodia. Workshop on green initiatives A workshop ‘Reporting on Human Rights Due Diligence (HREDD) and Sustainability Requirements for International Buyers’ was organised on September 19, 2024, by GOPA Consulting Group’s team leading the GIZ-funded project “Services to strengthen capacities for sustainable management in the textile sector” in association with TAFTAC. The workshop marked the end of the project. Held in the headquarters of TAFTAC, the workshop lauded the efforts of 45 TAFTAC member factories for the successful completion of the Model Green Factory Program. The training at the workshop had three main objectives – environmental data management, energy efficiency, and job and data management, which are integral to international sustainability standards. Minimum wages revised The National Council on Minimum Wage (NCMW) – a tripartite body comprising equal representation of labour unions, employer’s associations, and the government, increased the minimum wage for the textile, garment, footwear and travel product industries for 2025, through Prakas 211 which will come into force with effect from January 1, 2025. The new minimum wages will be $208 pm (per month) and $206 pm for regular and probationary workers, respectively. Earlier wages were $204 pm and $202 pm. Prakas 211 also outlined the minimum wage provisions for piece rate workers, who are compensated based on their level of output. These workers have the potential to earn more than the minimum wage if their production yields a higher pay rate. However, if their production results in earnings lower than the minimum wage, their pay is adjusted to meet the minimum wage threshold of $208 pm for regular workers or $206 pm for probationary workers. In addition to the minimum wage, workers will also receive the attendance bonus of $10 pm; travel and accommodation expenses of $7 pm; meal allowances of $0.50 per day; and overtime and seniority bonus of $2 to $11 pm for those between their second to the eleventh year of work. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SB – WE)ICT and FCT Test Equipment Market Market Insights: In-Depth Analysis of Key Players and Market DynamicsICEYE expands its Earth Observation capabilities with launch of two SAR satellites for mid-inclination orbit on the Bandwagon-2 mission with SpaceX
WASHINGTON -- Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) recently bestowed awards upon a number people who have championed roadway safety during their 35th anniversary celebration. Members of Congress, federal and state government leaders, and citizen activists who have fought tirelessly to achieve safe vehicles, safe road users and safe roadway environments were honored for their efforts at a reception on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Hutto S.C. State Sen. Brad Hutto (D) was also among those celebrated for contributions to safety with a Highway Safety Hero award. The Senator Frank R. Lautenberg Highway Safety Leadership Award, first commissioned in 2014 to honor the late Senator’s lifesaving legacy, was presented to the Office of The Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) for the issuance of a Final Rule requiring new vehicles to be equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has found this technology holds remarkable promise to reduce crashes. This requirement will ensure that more families have access to the safest braking systems more quickly and that it meets a government safety standard. Advocates also presented a Highway Safety Hero – Lifetime Achievement Award to three Members of Congress for their impressive tenure working on behalf of safety throughout their time in public service: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Banking Committee, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer. Additionally, Advocates presented Highway Safety Hero awards to members of Congress for their oversight of the directives in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Pub. L. 117-58) and other safety efforts. Awardees are U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Kevin Mullin (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD). Others were celebrated for their contributions to safety with a Highway Safety Hero award including National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, State Sens. Javier L. Cervantes (D-IL), Nilsa I. Cruz-Perez (D-NJ), Donovan Fenton (D-NH) Brad Hutto (D-SC) and Dean Rummel (R-ND), State Representatives/Assemblymembers Rep.-Elect Laura Friedman (D-CA), Jeff Johnson (R-SC), Michael J. Kelly (D-IL), Weston Newton (R-SC), Samantha Sencer-Mura (D-MN) and G. Murrell Smith Jr. (R-SC), and Mercer County Executive Dan Benson (D-NJ). Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected former White House aide Brooke Rollins to lead the Department of Agriculture in his second administration. Here are some things to know about Trump’s choice and the agency that Rollins would lead if she is confirmed by the Senate. She is a lawyer with agriculture ties — and a strong relationship with Trump Rollins, 52, graduated from Texas A&M University with an undergraduate degree in agricultural development before completing law school at the University of Texas. She served as domestic policy chief during Trump's first term, a portfolio that included agricultural policy. After leaving the White House, she became president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. Over the years, Rollins has forged a strong enough relationship with Trump, who has prized proven loyalty in his Cabinet and top adviser picks , that she was among the people floated as a potential White House chief of staff. That job went to Susie Wiles, Trump's co-campaign manager. Rollins, in an interview earlier this year, called Trump an “amazing boss.” USDA is about more than farms President Abraham Lincoln founded the USDA in 1862, when about half of all Americans lived on farms. The sprawling department now reaches into every American neighborhood, grocery store and school cafeteria. The USDA is the primary agency overseeing the nation’s farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition. The agency has a dual purpose of promoting and regulating agriculture practice and products. The agency oversees multiple support programs for farmers; animal and plant health; and the safety of meat, poultry and eggs that anchor the nation’s food supply. Its federal nutrition programs provide food to low-income people, pregnant women and young children. And the department sets standards for school meals. The next USDA chief could figure prominently in Trump 2.0 Trump did not offer many specifics about his agriculture policies during the campaign. But if he keeps his pledge to impose sweeping tariffs, farmers could be affected quickly — and potentially harshly. During the first Trump administration, countries like China responded to Trump’s tariffs by imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports like the corn and soybeans routinely sold overseas. Trump countered by offering massive multibillion-dollar aid to farmers to help them weather the trade war. The ripple effects could extend to consumers’ grocery bills, as well. When things are going smoothly, agriculture secretaries are not usually prominent faces of an administration. But when the nation’s food supply is at issue, it could be another story. ___ Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Bill Barrow And Adriana Gomez Licon, The Associated PressWhile addressing a 'Hala Modi' event in Kuwait, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he was happy to see the diversity of people from India in the Middle East nation and called it a "mini-Hindustan". PM Modi on Saturday arrived in Kuwait City for his two-day visit to the Gulf nation on the invitation of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabahsaid. Earlier, in his departure message, the prime minister reiterated that his talks with top Kuwaiti leadership would be an opportunity to chalk out a roadmap for a futuristic partnership between India and Kuwait. "We deeply value the historical connection with Kuwait that has been nurtured over generations. We are not just strong trade and energy partners but also have shared interest in peace, security, stability and prosperity in the West Asia region," he said. 'Mini Hindustan': The 'Hala Modi' event Addressing the vibrant Indian diaspora at the Shaikh Saad Al Abdullah Indoor Sports Complex in Kuwait City, PM Modi said, "Just 2–2.5 hours ago, I arrived in Kuwait, and ever since setting foot here, I have felt an extraordinary sense of belonging and warmth all around. You all have come from various states of India, but seeing you here feels like a 'Mini Hindustan' has gathered before me." "Our elders in Gujarat still recall how Kuwaiti traders learnt Gujarati, wrote books in it and traded their world-famous pearls in our markets. We took supplied horses and many other items. There has been a long-lasting relationship between India and Kuwait," he said. The warmth and affection of the Indian diaspora in Kuwait is extraordinary. Addressing a community programme. https://t.co/XzQDP6seLL Further in his speech, PM Modi also highlighted that India owns the skill, technology, innovation and manpower that 'New' Kuwait needs. "Kuwait, through trade and innovation, wants to be a dynamic economy. India is also focusing on innovation and strengthening its economy. India has the skill, technology, innovation and manpower that 'New' Kuwait needs," the Prime Minister noted. Hailing the Indian community, the prime minister said the diaspora has filled Kuwait’s canvas with the colours of Indian skills. Received a heartwarming welcome from the vibrant Indian diaspora in Kuwait. Their energy, love and unwavering connection to India are truly inspiring. Grateful for their enthusiasm and proud of their contributions to strengthening ties between our nations. pic.twitter.com/tvNSZinY5e PM Modi imeets translator, publisher of Mahabharata, Ramayana PM Modi also met two Kuwaiti nationals who translated and published India’s two iconic epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana in Arabic. The Prime Minister was also seen signing copies of the Arabic versions of the two epics. ALSO READ | PM Modi Reaches Kuwait, To Meet Emir, Crown Prince; Congress Reminds Him Of Manipur | Details "Happy to see Arabic translations of the Ramayan and Mahabharat. I compliment Abdullah Al-Baroun and Abdul Lateef Al-Nesef for their efforts in translating and publishing it. Their initiative highlights the popularity of Indian culture globally, Modi said in a post on X along with pictures. Happy to see Arabic translations of the Ramayan and Mahabharat. I compliment Abdullah Al-Baroun and Abdul Lateef Al-Nesef for their efforts in translating and publishing it. Their initiative highlights the popularity of Indian culture globally. pic.twitter.com/3tlxauYUK5 PM Modi meets 101-year-old Ex-IFS officer Following a social media appeal, PM Modi met 101-year-old former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Mangal Sain Handa. The interaction was made possible by Handa's granddaughter Shreya Juneja who requested PM Modi to meet him on social media. "Humble request to Hon'ble PM @narendramodi to meet my 101-year-old Nanaji, ex-IFS officer, in Kuwait during tomorrow's interaction with the Indian Diaspora. Nana @MangalSainHanda is a great admirer of yours. Details have been emailed to your office," Shreya posted on X.
Rocket Lab Successfully Deploys Satellite for Synspective, Caps Off Year with 60% Increase in Launches YoYNEW YORK — Greg Gumbel, a longtime CBS sportscaster, died from cancer, according to a statement from family released by CBS on Friday. He was 78. "He leaves behind a legacy of love, inspiration and dedication to over 50 extraordinary years in the sports broadcast industry; and his iconic voice will never be forgotten," his wife, Marcy Gumbel, and daughter Michelle Gumbel said in a statement. In March, Gumbel missed his first NCAA Tournament since 1997 because of what he said at the time were family health issues. Gumbel was the studio host for CBS since returning to the network from NBC in 1998. He signed an extension with CBS last year that allowed him to continue hosting college basketball while stepping back from NFL announcing duties. In 2001, he announced Super Bowl XXXV for CBS, becoming the first Black announcer in the U.S. to call play-by-play of a major sports championship. David Berson, president and CEO of CBS Sports, described Greg Gumbel as breaking barriers and setting standards for others during his years as a voice for fans in sports, including in the NFL and March Madness. "A tremendous broadcaster and gifted storyteller, Greg led one of the most remarkable and groundbreaking sports broadcasting careers of all time," said Berson. Dallas Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders, left, and running back Michael Irvin (88) share the Vince Lombardi trophy Jan. 28, 1996, as NBC commentator Greg Gumbel interviews the two after Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Ariz. Gumbel had two stints at CBS, leaving the network for NBC when it lost football in 1994 and returning when it regained the contract in 1998. He hosted CBS' coverage of the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics and called Major League Baseball games during its four-year run broadcasting the national pastime. But it was football and basketball where he was best known and made his biggest impact. Gumbel hosted CBS' NFL studio show, "The NFL Today" from 1990 to 1993 and again in 2004. He also called NFL games as the network's lead play-by-play announcer from 1998 to 2003, including Super Bowl XXXV and XXXVIII. He returned to the NFL booth in 2005, leaving that role after the 2022 season. Glynis Johns, a Tony Award-winning stage and screen star who played the mother opposite Julie Andrews in the classic movie “Mary Poppins” and introduced the world to the bittersweet standard-to-be “Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim, died, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2023. She was 100. Adan Canto, the Mexican singer and actor best known for his roles in “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “Agent Game” as well as the TV series “The Cleaning Lady,” “Narcos,” and “Designated Survivor,” died Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, after a private battle with appendiceal cancer. He was 42. Bud Harrelson, the scrappy and sure-handed shortstop who fought Pete Rose on the field during a playoff game and helped the New York Mets win an astonishing championship, died Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. He was 79. The Mets said that Harrelson died at a hospice house in East Northport, New York after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević, a mentor to two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and a former star player in his native Serbia, died Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, after suffering a heart attack, the team announced. He was 46. Jack Burke Jr., the oldest living Masters champion who staged the greatest comeback ever at Augusta National for one of his two majors, died Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, in Houston. He was 100. Mary Weiss, the lead singer of the 1960s pop group the Shangri-Las, whose hits included “The Leader of the Pack,” died Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 75. Norman Jewison, a three-time Oscar nominee who in 1999 received an Academy Award for lifetime achievement, died “peacefully” Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, according to publicist Jeff Sanderson. He was 97. Charles Osgood, who anchored “CBS Sunday Morning” for more than two decades, hosted the long-running radio program “The Osgood File” and was referred to as CBS News’ poet-in-residence, died Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. He was 91. Melanie, a singer-songwriter behind 1970s hits including “Brand New Key,” died Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. She was 76. Born Melanie Safka, the singer rose through the New York folk scene and was one of only three solo women to perform at Woodstock. Her hits included “Lay Down” and “Look What They've Done to My Song Ma.” Chita Rivera, the dynamic dancer, singer and actress who garnered 10 Tony nominations, winning twice, in a long Broadway career that forged a path for Latina artists, died Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. She was 91. Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies, facing-off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” and teaching golf in “Happy Gilmore,” died Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. He was 76. Wayne Kramer, the co-founder of the protopunk Detroit band the MC5 that thrashed out such hardcore anthems as “Kick Out the Jams” and influenced everyone from the Clash to Rage Against the Machine, died Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, according to Jason Heath, a close friend and executive director of Kramer's charity, Jail Guitar Doors. Heath said the cause of death was pancreatic cancer. He was 75. Actor Ian Lavender, who played a hapless Home Guard soldier in the classic British sitcom “Dad’s Army,” died Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. He was 77. Country music singer-songwriter Toby Keith, whose pro-American anthems were both beloved and criticized, died Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. He was 62. Henry Fambrough, the last surviving original member of the iconic R&B group The Spinners, whose hits included “It’s a Shame,” “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love,” and “The Rubberband Man,” died Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, of natural causes, according to a statement from his spokeswoman. He was 85. Bob Edwards, right, the news anchor many Americans woke up to as founding host of National Public Radio's “Morning Edition” for nearly a quarter-century, died Saturday, Feb. 10, 20243. He was 76. He's shown here with sports announcer Red Barber. Don Gullett, a former major league pitcher and coach who played for four consecutive World Series champions in the 1970s, died Feb. 14. He was 73. He finished his playing career with a 109-50 record playing for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees. Lefty Driesell, the coach whose folksy drawl belied a fiery on-court demeanor that put Maryland on the college basketball map and enabled him to rebuild several struggling programs, died Feb. 17, 2024, at age 92. Germany players celebrate after Andreas Brehme, left on ground, scores the winning goal in the World Cup soccer final match against Argentina, in the Olympic Stadium, in Rome, July 8, 1990. Andreas Brehme, who scored the only goal as West Germany beat Argentina to win the 1990 World Cup final, died Feb. 20, 2024. He was 63. Despite the effort of Denver Broncos defensive back Steve Foley (43), Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Golden Richards hauls in a touchdown pass during NFL football's Super Bowl 12 in New Orleans on Jan 15, 1978. Richards died Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, of congestive heart failure at his home in Murray, Utah. He was 73. Richards' nephew Lance Richards confirmed his death in a post on his Facebook page. Comedian Richard Lewis attends an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles on Dec. 25, 2012. Lewis, an acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes while dressed in all-black, leading to his nickname “The Prince of Pain,” died Feb. 27, 2024. He was 76. He died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack, according to his publicist Jeff Abraham. Former Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov attends a session of the Federation Council, Russian parliament's upper house, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. Ryzhkov, former Soviet prime minister who presided over failed efforts to shore up the crumbling economy in the final years before the collapse of the USSR, died Feb. 28, 2024, at age 94. Brian Mulroney, the former prime minister of Canada, listens during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico relationship, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Mulroney died at the age of 84 on Feb. 29, 2024. Akira Toriyama is pictured in 1982. Toriyama, the creator of one of Japan's best-selling “Dragon Ball” and other popular anime who influenced Japanese comics, died March 1, 2024. He was 68. Iris Apfel, a textile expert, interior designer and fashion celebrity known for her eccentric style, died March 1, 2024, at 102. Andy Russell, the standout linebacker who was an integral part of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ evolution from perennial losers to champions, died Feb. 29, 2024. He was 82. Russell won two Super Bowls during a 12-year NFL career between 1963-76 that was briefly interrupted by a stint in the military. Russell played in 168 consecutive games and spent 10 years as a team captain. He was named to the Pro Bowl seven times. Russell remained active in the Pittsburgh community after retiring, writing several books and launching the Andy Russell Charitable Foundation. Pittsburgh Pirates' Ed Ott slides across home late out of reach of Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey to score the winning run in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the World Series at Baltimore, Oct. 11, 1979. Ott, a former major league catcher and coach who helped the Pittsburgh Pirates win the 1979 World Series, died March 3, 2024. He was 72. He batted .259 with 33 homers and 195 RBIs in 567 major league games. Ott and Steve Nicosia were the main catchers when the Pirates won it all in 1979. In a photo supplied by ESPN, Chris Mortensen appears on the set of Sunday NFL Countdown at ESPN's studios in Bristol, Conn., on Sept. 22, 2019. Mortensen, the award-winning journalist who covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN, died March 3, 2024. He was 72. Mortensen announced in 2016 that he he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Even while undergoing treatment, he was the first to confirm the retirement of Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. Mortensen announced his retirement after the NFL draft last year so that he could “focus on my health, family and faith.” Singer Steve Lawrence, left, and his wife Eydie Gorme arrive at a black-tie gala called honoring Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas on May 30, 1998. Lawrence, a singer and top stage act who as a solo performer and in tandem with his wife Gorme kept Tin Pan Alley alive during the rock era, died Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at age 88. Gorme died on Aug. 10, 2013. Martin Luther King III, right, the son of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., walks with his daughter Yolanda, and Naomi Barber King, left, the wife of Rev. King's brother, A.D., through an exhibition devoted to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to King at the Martin Luther King Jr. Historical Site, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014, in Atlanta. Civil rights activist Naomi Barber King died Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Atlanta, according to family members. She was 92. A Texas man who spent decades using an iron lung after contracting polio as a child died March 11, 2024, at the age of 78. Paul Alexander's longtime friend Daniel Spinks says Alexander died Monday at a Dallas hospital. Spinks called his friend one of the "bright stars of the world.” Friends of Alexander, who graduated from law school and had a career as an attorney, say he was a man who had a great joy for life. Alexander was a child when he began using an iron lung, a cylinder that encased his body as the air pressure in the chamber forced air in and out of his lungs. Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford stands near the NASA Motor Vessel Retriever during training Aug. 23, 1965, in the Gulf of Mexico. Stafford, who commanded a dress rehearsal flight for the 1969 moon landing and the first U.S.-Soviet space linkup, died March 18, 2024, at 93. New York Rangers' Chris Simon celebrates his second-period goal against the New York Islanders, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004, at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. Former NHL enforcer Chris Simon has died. He was 52. Simon died March 18, 2024, according to a spokesperson for the NHL Players' Association. M. Emmet Walsh arrives at the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards, March 1, 2014, in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh, the character actor who brought his unmistakable face and unsettling presence to films including “Blood Simple” and “Blade Runner,” died March 19, 2024, at age 88, his manager said Wednesday. "Babar" author Laurent de Brunhoff, who revived his father's popular picture book series about an elephant-king, has died at 98 after being in hospice care for two weeks. De Brunhoff was a Paris native who moved to the U.S. in the 1980s. He died March 22, 2024, at his home in Key West, Florida. Just 12 years old when his father, Jean de Brunhoff, died of tuberculosis, Laurent drew upon his own gifts as a painter and storyteller and as an adult released dozens of books about the elephant who reigns over Celesteville, among them "Babar at the Circus" and "Babar's Yoga for Elephants." Longtime Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos has died at the age of 94. His family announced in a statement that Angelos, who had been ill for several years, died March 23, 2024. Angelos was owner of an Orioles team that endured long losing stretches and shrewd proprietor of a law firm that won high-profile cases against industry titans such as tobacco giant Philip Morris. Angelos’ death came as his son, John, was in the process of selling the Orioles to a group headed by Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder David Rubenstein. Peter Angelos purchased the team for $173 million in 1993, at the time the highest for a sports franchise. His public role diminished significantly in his final years. Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore, left, and his running mate, vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, wave to supporters Oct. 25, 2000, at a campaign rally in Jackson, Tenn. Lieberman died March 27, 2024. He was 82 and died Wednesday of complications from a fall. Lieberman nearly won the vice presidency on Democrat Al Gore's ticket in the disputed 2000 White House race. Eight years later, he came close to joining the GOP ticket as John McCain’s running mate. The Democrat-turned-independent stepped down from the Senate in January 2013 after 24 years. His independent streak often irked Senate Democrats he aligned with. Yet his support for gay rights, civil rights, abortion rights and environmental causes at times won him the praise of many liberals over the years. Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries “Roots,” died March 28, 2024. He was 87. Gossett always thought of his early career as a reverse Cinderella story, with success finding him from an early age and propelling him forward, toward his Academy Award for “An Officer and a Gentleman.” He also was a star on Broadway, replacing Billy Daniels in “Golden Boy” with Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964 and recently played an obstinate patriarch in the 2023 remake of “The Color Purple.” Former cast members of SCTV, from left, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, foreground, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy and Martin Short, pose at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival on March 6, 1999, in Aspen, Colo. Flaherty, a founding member of the Canadian sketch series “SCTV,” died Monday, April 1, 2024 at age 82. John Sinclair talks at the John Sinclair Foundation Café and Coffeeshop, Dec. 26, 2018, in Detroit. Sinclair, a poet, music producer and counterculture figure whose lengthy prison sentence after a series of small-time pot busts inspired a John Lennon song and a star-studded 1971 concert to free him, has died at age 82. Sinclair died Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at Detroit Receiving Hospital of congestive heart failure following an illness, his publicist Matt Lee said. Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino, right, tips his cap to fans as majority owner John Henry holds the 2013 World Series championship trophy during a parade in celebration of the baseball team's win, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, in Boston. Larry Lucchino, the force behind baseball’s retro ballpark revolution and the transformation of the Boston Red Sox from cursed losers to World Series champions, has died. He was 78. Lucchino had suffered from cancer. The Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, his last project in a career that also included three major league baseball franchises and one in the NFL, confirmed his death on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Playwright Christopher Durang appears on stage with producers to accept the award for best play for "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" at the 67th Annual Tony Awards, on June 9, 2013 in New York. Also on stage are actors, background from left, Shalita Grant, Kristine Nielsen and Billy Magnussen. Durang died Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at his home in Pipersville, Pennsylvania, of complications from logopenic primary progressive aphasia. He was 75. In this Oct. 16, 1969 file photo, New York Mets catcher Jerry Grote, right, embraces pitcher Jerry Koosman as Ed Charles, left, joins the celebration after the Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the Game 5 to win the baseball World Series at New York's Shea Stadium. Grote, the catcher who helped transform the New York Mets from a perennial loser into the 1969 World Series champion, died Sunday, April 7, 2024. He was 81. In this July 8, 2003 photo, Lori, left, and George Schappell, conjoined twins, are photographed in their Reading, Pa., apartment. Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died April 7, 2024, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. They were 62. The University of Edinburgh says Nobel prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of a sub-atomic particle that came to be known as the Higgs boson, died April 8, 2024, at 94. Higgs predicted the existence of the particle in 1964. But it would be almost 50 years before the its existence could be confirmed at a particle collider in Switzerland called the Large Hadron Collider. Higgs’ work helps scientists understand of the most fundamental riddles of the universe: how the Big Bang created something out of nothing 13.7 billion years ago. Higgs won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work, alongside Francois Englert of Belgium. A retired U.S. Army colonel who was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Korean War died April 8, 2024, at age 97. A funeral home says that Ralph Puckett Jr. died Monday at his home in Columbus, Georgia. President Joe Biden presented Puckett with the Medal of Honor in 2021, more than seven decades after Puckett was seriously wounded leading an outnumbered company of Army Rangers in battle. Puckett refused a medical discharge and served as an Army officer for another 20 years before retiring in 1971. Puckett received the U.S. military's highest honor from President Joe Biden on May 21, 2021, following a policy change that lifted a requirement for medals to be given within five years of a valorous act. O.J. Simpson, left, grimaces June 15, 1995, in a Los Angeles courtroom as he famously tries on one of the leather gloves prosecutors say he wore the night his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered. Simpson, t he decorated football star who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but wound up in prison years later in an unrelated case, died April 10, 2024. He was 76. His family made an announcement Thursday in a statement on Simpson's X account. Simpson said last year that he was battling prostate cancer. Simpson’s gridiron legacy was forever overshadowed by the 1994 knife slayings of Brown Simpson and Goldman. A criminal court jury found him not guilty of murder, but a separate civil trial jury found him liable. Simpson's nine-year prison stint in Nevada was for the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers. Francis Coppola and wife, Eleanor, pose July 16, 1991, in Los Angeles. Eleanor Coppola, who documented the making of some of her husband Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic films, including the infamously tortured production of “Apocalypse Now,” and who raised a family of filmmakers, has died. She was 87. Coppola died April 12, 2024, at home in Rutherford, California, her family announced in a statement. Eleanor, who grew in Orange County, California, met Francis while working as an assistant art director on his directorial debut, the Roger Corman-produced 1963 horror film “Dementia 13.” Their first-born, Gian-Carlo, quickly became a regular presence in his father’s films, as did their subsequent children, Roman, and Sofia. After acting in their father’s films and growing up on sets, all would go into the movies. Robert MacNeil, seen in February 1978, who created the even-handed, no-frills PBS newscast “The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour” in the 1970s and co-anchored the show for with his late partner, Jim Lehrer, for two decades, died April 12, 2024, at age 93. Artist Faith Ringgold poses for a portrait in front of a painted self-portrait during a press preview of her exhibition, "American People, Black Light: Faith Ringgold's Paintings of the 1960s" at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, June 19, 2013. Ringgold, an award-winning author and artist who broke down barriers for Black female artists and became famous for her richly colored and detailed quilts combining painting, textiles and storytelling, died Friday, April 12, 2024, at her home in Englewood, N.J. She was 93. Alabama coach Bear Bryant, left, talks with his former star quarterback Steve Sloan, right, after practice in Miami for the Orange Bowl game New Years' night against Nebraska, Dec. 29, 1968. Former college coach and administrator Sloan, who played quarterback and served as athletic director at Alabama. has passed away. He was 79. Sloan died Sunday, April 14, 2024, after three months of memory care at Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, according to an obituary from former Alabama sports information director Wayne Atcheson. Oakland A's pitcher Ken Holtzman poses for a photo in March 1975. Holtzman, who pitched two no-hitters for the Chicago Cubs and helped the Oakland Athletics win three straight World Series championships in the 1970s, died April 14, 2024. He finished with a career record of 174-150 over 15 season with four teams and was the winningest Jewish pitcher in baseball history. Carl Erskine, center, pictured with teammate Duke Snider, left, and manager Charley Dressen in 1952, after beating the Yankees 6-5 in Game 5 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York, Oct. 5, 1952. Erskine, who pitched two no-hitters for the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a 20-game winner in 1953 when he struck out a then-record 14 in the World Series, has died. Among the last survivors from the celebrated Brooklyn teams of the 1950s, Erskine spent his entire major league career with the Dodgers. He helped them win five National League pennants from 1948-59. Erskine won Game 3 of the 1953 World Series, beating the Yankees 3-2. He appeared in five World Series, with the Dodgers beating the Yankees in 1955 for their only championship in Brooklyn. Erksine died April 16 in his hometown of Anderson, Indiana, according to a hospital official. He was 97. St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog lets umpire John Shulock, right, know how he feels about Shulock's call on the tag attempt on Kansas City Royals Jim Sundberg by Cardinals catcher Tom Nieto, second from left, in the second inning of Game 5 of the 1985 World Series in St. Louis. Herzog, the gruff and ingenious Hall of Fame manager who guided the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennants and a World Series title and perfected an intricate, nail-biting strategy known as “Whiteyball,” has died. Herzog, affectionately nicknamed “The White Rat,” was a manager for 18 seasons, compiling an overall record of 1,281 wins and 1,125 losses. He was named Manager of the Year in 1985. Under Herzog, the Cardinals won pennants in 1982, 1985 and 1987 and won the World Series in 1982, when they edged the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games. He died April 15, 2024, and was 92. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., gestures as he answers questions regarding the ongoing security hearing on Capitol Hill, June 18, 2002, in Washington. Graham, who chaired the Intelligence Committee following the 2001 terrorist attacks and opposed the Iraq invasion, died April 16, 2024. He was 87. His family announced the death Tuesday in a statement posted on X by his daughter Gwen Graham. Graham served three terms in the Senate and two terms as Florida's governor. He made an unsuccessful bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, emphasizing his opposition to the Iraq invasion. But that bid was delayed by heart surgery in January 2003, and he was never able to gain enough traction with voters to catch up. He didn’t seek re-election in 2004 and was replaced by Republican Mel Martinez. Guitar legend and Allman Brothers Band co-founder Dickey Betts died April 18, 2024, at age 80. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer wrote the band's biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man.” Manager David Spero told The Associated Press that Betts died early Thursday at his home in Osprey, Florida. He says Betts had been battling cancer for more than a year and had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Betts shared lead guitar duties with Duane Allman in the original Allman Brothers Band to help give the group its distinctive sound and create a new genre: Southern rock. Acts ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Kid Rock were influenced by the Allmans’ music, which combined blues, country, R&B and jazz with ’60s rock. Contemporary Christian singer Mandisa, who appeared on “American Idol” and won a Grammy for her 2013 album “Overcomer,” died April 18, 2024. She was 47. Mandisa gained stardom after finishing ninth on “American Idol” in 2006. In 2014, she won a Grammy for best contemporary Christian music album for “Overcomer,” her fifth album. She spoke openly about her struggles with depression, releasing a memoir that detailed her experiences with severe depression, weight-related challenges, the coronavirus pandemic and her faith. David Pryor, a former Arkansas governor and U.S. senator who was one of the state’s most beloved and active political figures, died April 20, 2024, at the age of 89. His son, former two-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, says the Democrat died Saturday of natural causes in Little Rock surrounded by family. David Pryor was considered one of the Democratic party’s giants in Arkansas and remained active in public life after he left office, including serving on the University of Arkansas’s Board of Trustees. Roman Gabriel was known for his big size and big arm. He was the first Filipino-American quarterback in the NFL. And he still holds the Los Angeles Rams record for touchdown passes. Gabriel died April 20, 2024, at age 83. His son posted the news on social media. He says Gabriel died at home of natural causes. Gabriel starred at North Carolina State and was the No. 2 pick by the Rams in the 1962 draft. The Oakland Raider of the rival AFL made him the No. 1 pick. Gabriel signed with the Rams and later played with the Philadelphia Eagles. Andrew Davis, an acclaimed British conductor who was music director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and orchestras on three continents, died April 20, 2024. He was 80. Davis died Saturday at Rusk Institute in Chicago from leukemia. That is according to his manager, Jonathan Brill of Opus 3 Artists. Davis had been managing the disease for 1 1/2 to 2 years but it became acute shortly after his 80th birthday on Feb. 2. Davis was music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1975-88, Britain’s Glyndebourne Festival from 1988-2000, chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1989-2000, then was music director of the Lyric Opera from 2000-21. Former hostage Terry Anderson waves to the crowd as he rides in a parade in Lorain, Ohio, June 22, 1992. Anderson, the globe-trotting Associated Press correspondent who became one of America’s longest-held hostages, died April 21, 2024. Anderson was snatched from a street in war-torn Lebanon in 1985 and held for nearly seven years. Anderson, who was tortured and chained to a wall, wrote about his experiences in the best-selling memoir, “Den of Lions.” After returning to the United States in 1991, Anderson gave public speeches, taught journalism and, at various times, operated a blues bar, Cajun restaurant, horse ranch and gourmet restaurant. He also struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder. British army veteran Bill Gladden, who survived a glider landing on D-Day and a bullet that tore through his ankle a few days later, wanted to return to France for the 80th anniversary of the invasion so he could honor the men who didn’t come home. It was not to be. Gladden, one of the dwindling number of veterans who took part in the landings that kicked off the campaign to liberate Western Europe from the Nazis during World War II, died April 24, his family said. He was 100. With fewer and fewer veterans taking part each year, the ceremony may be one of the last big events marking the assault that began on June 6, 1944. Duane Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser,” “Forty Miles of Bad Road" and “Cannonball” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians, died April 30 at age 86. With his raucous rhythms, and backing hollers and hand claps, Eddy sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and mastered a distinctive sound based on the premise that a guitar’s bass strings sounded better on tape than the high ones. Author Paul Auster has died at age 77. Auster was a prolific, prize-winning man of letters and filmmaker known for such inventive narratives and meta-narratives as “The New York Trilogy” and “4 3 2 1." Auster’s death on April 30 was confirmed by his literary representatives. Auster completed more than 30 books, translated into dozens of languages. He never achieved major commercial success in the U.S., but he was widely admired overseas for his cosmopolitan worldview and erudite and introspective style. Auster’s novels were a mix of history, politics, genre experiments, existential quests and self-conscious references to writers and writing. Co-pilots Dick Rutan, right, and Jeana Yeager, no relationship to test pilot Chuck Yeager, pose for a photo after a test flight over the Mojave Desert, Dec. 19, 1985. Rutan, a decorated Vietnam War pilot, who along with copilot Yeager completed one of the greatest milestones in aviation history: the first round-the-world flight with no stops or refueling, died late Friday, May 3, 2024. He was 85. Music producer Steve Albini, seen in his Chicago studio in 2014, produced albums by Nirvana, the Pixies and PJ Harvey. Albini died at 61. Brian Fox, an engineer at Albini’s studio, Electrical Audio, says Albini died after a heart attack May 7. In addition to his work on canonized rock albums such as Nirvana‘s “In Utero,” the Pixies’ breakthrough “Surfer Rosa,” and PJ Harvey’s “Rid of Me,” Albini was the frontman of the underground bands Big Black and Shellac. He dismissed the term “producer” and requested he be credited with “Recorded by Steve Albini." San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame football player Jimmy Johnson, left, is honored by owner Jed York before a 2011 game between against the St. Louis Rams in San Francisco. Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Jimmy Johnson, a three-time All-Pro and member of the All-Decade Team of the 1970s, has died. He was 86. Johnson's family told the Pro Football Hall of Fame that he died May 8. Johnson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. He played his entire 16-year pro career with San Francisco. He played in 213 games, more than any other 49ers player at the time of his retirement. San Diego Padres third baseman Sean Burroughs fires a throw to first from his knees but is unable to get Los Angeles Dodgers' D. J. Houlton at first during the third inning of a baseball game June 22, 2005, in San Diego. Burroughs, a two-time Little League World Series champion who won an Olympic gold medal and went on to a major league career that was interrupted by substance abuse, has died. He was 43. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s online records said Burroughs died Thursday, May 9, 2024, with the cause of death deferred. Producer Roger Corman poses in his Los Angeles office, May 8, 2013. Corman, the Oscar-winning “King of the Bs” who helped turn out such low-budget classics as “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and gave many of Hollywood's most famous actors and directors an early break, died Thursday, May 9, 2024. He was 98. A.J. Smith, a longtime NFL executive who was the winningest general manager in Chargers history, has died. He was 75. His son, Atlanta assistant general manager Kyle Smith, announced in a statement released by the Falcons that his father died May 12. Kyle Smith said his father had been battling prostate cancer for seven years. The Chargers won five division titles during Smith’s 10 seasons as GM. The franchise’s 98 wins, including the playoffs, were the sixth most in the league from 2003-12. Saxophone player David Sanborn performs during his concert at the Stravinski hall at the "Colours of Music night" during the 34th Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland on July 10, 2000. Sanborn, the Grammy-winning saxophonist who played lively solos on such hits as David Bowie's “Young Americans” and James Taylor's “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and enjoyed his own highly successful recording career as a leading performer of contemporary jazz, died Sunday, May 12, 2024, at age 78. Nobel laureate Alice Munro has died. The Canadian literary giant who became one of the world’s most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history’s most honored short story writers was 92. Munro achieved stature rare for an art form traditionally placed beneath the novel. She was the first lifelong Canadian to win the Nobel and the first recipient cited exclusively for short fiction. Munro was little known beyond Canada until her late 30s but became one of the few short story writers to enjoy ongoing commercial success. A spokesperson for publisher Penguin Random House Canada said Munro died May 13 at home in Port Hope, Ontario. Dabney Coleman, the mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains like the chauvinist boss in “9 to 5” and the nasty TV director in “Tootsie,” died May 16. He was 92. For two decades Coleman labored in movies and TV shows as a talented but largely unnoticed performer. That changed abruptly in 1976 when he was cast as the incorrigibly corrupt mayor of the hamlet of Fernwood in “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” a satirical soap opera. He won a Golden Globe for “The Slap Maxwell Story” and an Emmy Award for best supporting actor in Peter Levin’s 1987 small screen legal drama “Sworn to Silence.” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi listens to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, not in photo, during a joint news conference following their meeting at the Presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, Jan. 24, 2024. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others were found dead at the site of a helicopter crash site, state media reported Monday, May 20, 2024. Jim Otto, the Hall of Fame center known as Mr. Raider for his durability through a litany of injuries, died May 19. He was 86. The cause of death was not immediately known. Otto joined the Raiders for their inaugural season in the American Football League in 1960 and was a fixture on the team for the next 15 years. He never missed a game because of injuries and competed in 210 consecutive regular-season games and 308 straight total contests despite undergoing nine operations on his knees during his playing career. His right leg was amputated in 2007. Ivan F. Boesky, the flamboyant stock trader whose cooperation with the government cracked open one of the largest insider trading scandals on Wall Street, has died at the age of 87. A representative at the Marianne Boesky Gallery, owned by his daughter, confirmed his death. The son of a Detroit delicatessen owner, Boesky was once considered one of the richest and most influential risk-takers on Wall Street. He had parlayed $700,000 from his late mother-in-law’s estate into a fortune estimated at more than $200 million. Once implicated in insider trading, Boesky cooperated with a brash young U.S. attorney named Rudolph Giuliani, uncovering a scandal that blemished some of the most respected U.S. investment brokerages. Boesky died May 20. Jan. A.P. Kaczmarek poses with the Oscar for best original score for his work on "Finding Neverland" during the 77th Academy Awards, Feb. 27, 2005, in Los Angeles. Polish composer Kaczmarek, who won a 2005 Oscar for the movie “Finding Neverland,” has died on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at age 71. Kaczmarek’s death was announced by Poland’s Music Foundation. Train bassist and founding member Charlie Colin has died at 58. Colin’s sister confirmed the musician's death Wednesday to The Associated Press. Variety reported Colin slipped and fell in the shower while house-sitting for a friend in Brussels. Train formed in San Francisco in the early ’90s. Colin played on Train's first three records, 1998’s self-titled album, 2001’s “Drops of Jupiter” and 2003’s “My Private Nation.” The track “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also earned two Grammys. Colin left the band in 2003. He also worked with the Newport Beach Film Festival. Colin died May 22. Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar nominee whose most famous works skewered America’s food industry and who notably ate only at McDonald’s for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died of cancer. He was 53. Spurlock made a splash in 2004 with his groundbreaking film “Super Size Me,” and returned in 2019 with “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!” — a sober look at an industry that processes 9 billion animals a year in America. Spurlock was a gonzo-like filmmaker who leaned into the bizarre and ridiculous. His stylistic touches included zippy graphics and amusing music. Spurlock died May 23. Richard M. Sherman, one half of the prolific, award-winning pair of brothers who helped form millions of childhoods by penning classic Disney tunes, has died. He was 95. Sherman, along with his late brother Robert, wrote hundreds of songs together, including songs for “Mary Poppins,” “The Jungle Book” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” — as well as the most-played tune on Earth, “It’s a Small World (After All).” The Walt Disney Co. announced that Sherman died Saturday due to age-related illness. The brothers won two Academy Awards for Walt Disney’s 1964 smash “Mary Poppins.” Robert Sherman died May 25 in London in 2012. Basketball Hall of Fame legend Bill Walton laughs during a practice session for the NBA All-Star basketball game in Cleveland, Feb. 19, 2022. Walton, who starred for John Wooden's UCLA Bruins before becoming a Basketball Hall of Famer and one of the biggest stars of basketball broadcasting, died Monday, May 27, 2024, the league announced on behalf of his family. He was 71. “The Godfather” producer Albert S. Ruddy died May 25 at 94. The Canadian-born producer and writer won Oscars for “The Godfather” and “Million Dollar Baby,” developed the raucous prison-sports comedy “The Longest Yard” and helped create the hit sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes." A spokesperson says Ruddy died Saturday at the UCLA Medical Center. Ruddy produced more than 30 movies and was on hand for the very top and the very bottom. “The Godfather” and “Million Dollar Baby” were box office hits and winners of best picture Oscars. But Ruddy also helped give us “Cannonball Run II” and “Megaforce,” nominees for Golden Raspberry awards for worst movie of the year. Larry Allen, one of the most dominant offensive linemen in the NFL during a 12-year career spent mostly with the Dallas Cowboys, died June 2. He was 52. The Cowboys say Allen died suddenly on Sunday while on vacation with his family in Mexico. Allen was named an All-Pro six consecutive years from 1996-2001 and was inducted into the Pro Football of Hall of Fame in 2013. He said few words but let his blocking do the talking. Allen once bench-pressed 700 pounds and had the speed to chase down opposing running backs. Bob Hope and Janis Paige hug during the annual Christmas show in Saigon, Vietnam, Dec. 25, 1964. Paige, a popular actor in Hollywood and in Broadway musicals and comedies who danced with Fred Astaire, toured with Bob Hope and continued to perform into her 80s, died Sunday, June 2, 2024, of natural causes at her Los Angeles home, longtime friend Stuart Lampert said Monday, June 3. Parnelli Jones, the 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner, died June 4 at Torrance Memorial Medical Center after a battle with Parkinson’s disease, his son said. Jones was 90. At the time of his death, Jones was the oldest living winner of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Rufus Parnell Jones was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, in 1933 but moved to Torrance as a young child and never left. It was there that he became “Parnelli” because his given name of Rufus was too well known for him to compete without locals knowing that he wasn’t old enough to race. Boston Celtics' John Havlicek (17) is defended by Philadelphia 76ers' Chet Walker (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball playoff game April 14, 1968, in Boston. Walker, a seven-time All-Star forward who helped Wilt Chamberlain and the 76ers win the 1967 NBA title, died June 8. He was 84. The National Basketball Players Association confirmed Walker's death, according to NBA.com . The 76ers, Chicago Bulls and National Basketball Retired Players Association also extended their condolences on social media on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The Rev. James Lawson Jr. speaks Sept. 17, 2015, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Lawson Jr., an apostle of nonviolent protest who schooled activists to withstand brutal reactions from white authorities as the Civil Rights Movement gained traction, has died, his family said Monday. He was 95. His family said Lawson died on Sunday after a short illness in Los Angeles, where he spent decades working as a pastor, labor movement organizer and university professor. Lawson was a close adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who called him “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” Lawson met King in 1957, after spending three years in India soaking up knowledge about Mohandas K. Gandhi’s independence movement. King would travel to India himself two years later, but at the time, he had only read about Gandhi in books. Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Jerry West, representing the 1960 USA Olympic Team, is seen Aug. 13, 2010, during the enshrinement news conference at the Hall of Fame Museum in Springfield, Mass. Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive, and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died June 12, the Los Angeles Clippers announced. He was 86. West, nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” for his late-game exploits as a player, was an NBA champion who went into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1980 and again as a member of the gold medal-winning 1960 U.S. Olympic Team in 2010. He will be enshrined for a third time later this year as a contributor, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called West “one of the greatest executives in sports history.” Actor and director Ron Simons, seen Jan. 23, 2011, during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, died June 12. Simons turned into a formidable screen and stage producer, winning four Tony Awards and having several films selected at the Sundance Film Festival. He won Tonys for producing “Porgy and Bess,” “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” and “Jitney.” He also co-produced “Hughie,” with Forest Whitaker, “The Gin Game,” starring Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones, “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations,” an all-Black production of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” the revival of "for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf" and the original work “Thoughts of a Colored Man.” He was in the films “27 Dresses” and “Mystery Team,” as well as on the small screen in “The Resident,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Law & Order: SVU.” Bob Schul of West Milton, Ohio, hits the tape Oct. 18, 1964, to win the 5,000 meter run at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Schul, the only American distance runner to win the 5,000 meters at the Olympics, died June 16. He was 86. His death was announced by Miami University in Ohio , where Schul shined on the track and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 1973. Schul predicted gold leading into the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and followed through with his promise. On a rainy day in Japan, he finished the final lap in a blistering 54.8 seconds to sprint to the win. His white shorts were covered in mud at the finish. He was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1991. He also helped write a book called “In the Long Run.” San Francisco Giants superstar Willie Mays poses for a photo during baseball spring training in 1972. Mays, the electrifying “Say Hey Kid” whose singular combination of talent, drive and exuberance made him one of baseball’s greatest and most beloved players, died June 18. He was 93. The center fielder, who began his professional career in the Negro Leagues in 1948, had been baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer. He was voted into the Hall in 1979, his first year of eligibility, and in 1999 followed only Babe Ruth on The Sporting News’ list of the game’s top stars. The Giants retired his uniform number, 24, and set their AT&T Park in San Francisco on Willie Mays Plaza. Mays died two days before a game between the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals to honor the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field in Birmingham , Alabama. Over 23 major league seasons, virtually all with the New York/San Francisco Giants but also including one in the Negro Leagues, Mays batted .301, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,293 hits, scored more than 2,000 runs and won 12 Gold Gloves. He was Rookie of the Year in 1951, twice was named the Most Valuable Player and finished in the top 10 for the MVP 10 other times. His lightning sprint and over-the-shoulder grab of an apparent extra base hit in the 1954 World Series remains the most celebrated defensive play in baseball history. For millions in the 1950s and ’60s and after, the smiling ballplayer with the friendly, high-pitched voice was a signature athlete and showman during an era when baseball was still the signature pastime. Awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015, Mays left his fans with countless memories. But a single feat served to capture his magic — one so untoppable it was simply called “The Catch.” Actor Donald Sutherland appears Oct. 13, 2017, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif. Sutherland, the Canadian actor whose wry, arrestingly off-kilter screen presence spanned more than half a century of films from “M.A.S.H.” to “The Hunger Games,” died June 20. He was 88. Kiefer Sutherland said on X he believed his father was one of the most important actors in the history of film: “Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that.” The tall and gaunt Sutherland, who flashed a grin that could be sweet or diabolical, was known for offbeat characters like Hawkeye Pierce in Robert Altman's "M.A.S.H.," the hippie tank commander in "Kelly's Heroes" and the stoned professor in "Animal House." Before transitioning into a long career as a respected character actor, Sutherland epitomized the unpredictable, antiestablishment cinema of the 1970s. He never stopped working, appearing in nearly 200 films and series. Over the decades, Sutherland showed his range in more buttoned-down — but still eccentric — roles in Robert Redford's "Ordinary People" and Oliver Stone's "JFK." More, recently, he starred in the “Hunger Games” films. A memoir, “Made Up, But Still True,” is due out in November. Actor Bill Cobbs, a cast member in "Get Low," arrives July 27, 2010, at the premiere of the film in Beverly Hills, Calif. Cobbs, the veteran character actor who became a ubiquitous and sage screen presence as an older man, died June 25. He was 90. A Cleveland native, Cobbs acted in such films as “The Hudsucker Proxy,” “The Bodyguard” and “Night at the Museum.” He made his first big-screen appearance in a fleeting role in 1974's “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three." He became a lifelong actor with some 200 film and TV credits. The lion share of those came in his 50s, 60s, and 70s, as filmmakers and TV producers turned to him again and again to imbue small but pivotal parts with a wizened and worn soulfulness. Cobbs appeared on television shows including “The Sopranos," “The West Wing,” “Sesame Street” and “Good Times.” He was Whitney Houston's manager in “The Bodyguard” (1992), the mystical clock man of the Coen brothers' “The Hudsucker Proxy” (1994) and the doctor of John Sayles' “Sunshine State” (2002). He played the coach in “Air Bud” (1997), the security guard in “Night at the Museum” (2006) and the father on “The Gregory Hines Show." Cobbs rarely got the kinds of major parts that stand out and win awards. Instead, Cobbs was a familiar and memorable everyman who left an impression on audiences, regardless of screen time. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding limited performance in a daytime program for the series “Dino Dana” in 2020. Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman speaks with the media Nov. 7, 2009, at his campaign headquarters in Austin, Texas. The singer, songwriter, satirist and novelist, who led the alt-country band Texas Jewboys, toured with Bob Dylan, sang with Willie Nelson, and dabbled in politics with campaigns for Texas governor and other statewide offices, died June 27. He was 79 and had suffered from Parkinson's disease. Often called “The Kinkster" and sporting sideburns, a thick mustache and cowboy hat, Friedman earned a cult following and reputation as a provocateur throughout his career across musical and literary genres. In the 1970s, his satirical country band Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys wrote songs with titles such as “They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore” and “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed.” Friedman joined part of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour in 1976. By the 1980s, Friedman was writing crime novels that often included a version of himself, and he wrote a column for Texas Monthly magazine in the 2000s. Friedman's run at politics brought his brand of irreverence to the serious world of public policy. In 2006, Friedman ran for governor as an independent in a five-way race that included incumbent Republican Rick Perry. Friedman launched his campaign against the backdrop of the Alamo. Martin Mull participates in "The Cool Kids" panel during the Fox Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on Aug. 2, 2018, at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Mull, whose droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including “Roseanne” and “Arrested Development,” died June 28. He was 80. Mull, who was also a guitarist and painter, came to national fame with a recurring role on the Norman Lear-created satirical soap opera “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” and the starring role in its spinoff, “Fernwood Tonight." His first foray into show business was as a songwriter, penning the 1970 semi-hit “A Girl Named Johnny Cash” for singer Jane Morgan. He would combine music and comedy in an act that he brought to hip Hollywood clubs in the 1970s. Mull often played slightly sleazy, somewhat slimy and often smarmy characters as he did as Teri Garr's boss and Michael Keaton's foe in 1983's “Mr. Mom.” He played Colonel Mustard in the 1985 movie adaptation of the board game “Clue,” which, like many things Mull appeared in, has become a cult classic. The 1980s also brought what many thought was his best work, “A History of White People in America,” a mockumentary that first aired on Cinemax. Mull co-created the show and starred as a “60 Minutes” style investigative reporter investigating all things milquetoast and mundane. Willard was again a co-star. In the 1990s he was best known for his recurring role on several seasons on “Roseanne,” in which he played a warmer, less sleazy boss to the title character, an openly gay man whose partner was played by Willard, who died in 2020 . Mull would later play private eye Gene Parmesan on “Arrested Development,” a cult-classic character on a cult-classic show, and would be nominated for an Emmy, his first, in 2016 for a guest run on “Veep.” Screenwriter Robert Towne poses at The Regency Hotel, March 7, 2006, in New York. Towne, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer of "Shampoo," "The Last Detail" and other acclaimed films whose work on "Chinatown" became a model of the art form and helped define the jaded allure of his native Los Angeles, died Monday, July 1, 2024, surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles, said publicist Carri McClure. She declined to comment on any cause of death. Vic Seixas of the United States backhands a volley from Denmark's Jurgen Ulrich in the first round of men's singles match at Wimbledon, England, June 27, 1967. Vic Seixas, a Wimbledon winner and tennis Hall of Famer who was the oldest living Grand Slam champion, has died July 5 at the age of 100. The International Tennis Hall of Fame announced Seixas’ death on Saturday July 6, 2024, based on confirmation from his daughter Tori. In this June 30, 2020, file photo, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks to reporters following a GOP policy meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Former Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma died July 9. He was 89. The family says in a statement that the Republican had a stroke during the July Fourth holiday and died Tuesday morning. Inhofe was a powerful fixture in state politics for decades. He doubted that climate change was caused by human activity, calling the theory “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” As Oklahoma’s senior U.S. senator, he was a staunch supporter of the state’s military installations. He was elected to a fifth Senate term in 2020 and stepped down in early 2023. The Oak Ridge Boys, from left, Joe Bonsall, Richard Sterban, Duane Allen and William Lee Golden hold their awards for Top Vocal Group and Best Album of the Year for "Ya'll Come Back Saloon", during the 14th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Los Angeles, Calif., May 3, 1979. Bonsall died on July 9, 2024, from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Hendersonville, Tenn. He was 76. A Philadelphia native and resident of Hendersonville, Tennessee, Bonsall joined the Oak Ridge Boys in 1973, which originally formed in the 1940s. He saw the band through its golden period in the '80s and beyond, which included their signature 1981 song “Elvira.” The hit marked a massive crossover moment for the group, reaching No. 1 on the country chart and No. 5 on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100. The group is also known for such hits as 1982’s “Bobbie Sue." Shelley Duvall poses for photographers at the 30th Cannes Film Festival in France, May 27, 1977. Duvall, whose wide-eyed, winsome presence was a mainstay in the films of Robert Altman and who co-starred in Stanley Kubrick's “The Shining,” died July 11. She was 75. Dr. Ruth Westheimer holds a copy of her book "Sex for Dummies" at the International Frankfurt Book Fair 'Frankfurter Buchmesse' in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007. Westheimer, the sex therapist who became a pop icon, media star and best-selling author through her frank talk about once-taboo bedroom topics, died on July 12, 2024. She was 96. Richard Simmons sits for a portrait in Los Angeles, June 23, 1982. Simmons, a fitness guru who urged the overweight to exercise and eat better, died July 13 at the age of 76. Simmons was a court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better. Simmons was a former 268-pound teen who shared his hard-won weight loss tips as the host of the Emmy-winning daytime “Richard Simmons Show" and the “Sweatin' to the Oldies” line of exercise videos, which became a cultural phenomenon. Former NFL receiver Jacoby Jones died July 14 at age 40. Jones' 108-yard kickoff return in 2013 remains the longest touchdown in Super Bowl history. The Houston Texans were Jones’ team for the first five seasons of his career. They announced his death on Sunday. In a statement released by the NFL Players Association, his family said he died at his home in New Orleans. A cause of death was not given. Jones played from 2007-15 for the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers. He made several huge plays for the Ravens during their most recent Super Bowl title season, including that kick return. The "Beverly Hills, 90210" star whose life and career were roiled by tabloid stories, Shannen Doherty died July 13 at 53. Doherty's publicist said the actor died Saturday following years with breast cancer. Catapulted to fame as Brenda in “Beverly Hills, 90210,” she worked in big-screen films including "Mallrats" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and in TV movies including "A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story," in which she played the "Gone with the Wind" author. Doherty co-starred with Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano in the series “Charmed” from 1998-2001; appeared in the “90210” sequel series seven years later and competed on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2010. Actor James Sikking poses for a photograph at the Los Angeles gala celebrating the 20th anniversary of the National Organization for Women, Dec. 1, 1986. Sikking, who starred as a hardened police lieutenant on “Hill Street Blues” and as the titular character's kindhearted dad on “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” died July 13 of complications from dementia, his publicist Cynthia Snyder said in a statement. He was 90. Pat Williams chats with media before the 2004 NBA draft in Orlando, Fla. Williams, a co-founder of the Orlando Magic and someone who spent more than a half-century working within the NBA, died July 17 from complications related to viral pneumonia. The team announced the death Wednesday. Williams was 84. He started his NBA career as business manager of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1968, then had stints as general manager of the Chicago Bulls, the Atlanta Hawks and the 76ers — helping that franchise win a title in 1983. Williams was later involved in starting the process of bringing an NBA team to Orlando. The league’s board of governors granted an expansion franchise in 1987, and the team began play in 1989. Lou Dobbs speaks Feb. 24, 2017, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Md. Dobbs, the conservative political pundit and veteran cable TV host who was a founding anchor for CNN and later was a nightly presence on Fox Business Network for more than a decade, died July 18. He was 78. His death was announced in a post on his official X account, which called him a “fighter till the very end – fighting for what mattered to him the most, God, his family and the country.” He hosted “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox from 2011 to 2021, following two separate stints at CNN. No cause of death was given. Bob Newhart, center, poses with members of the cast and crew of the "Bob Newhart Show," from top left, Marcia Wallace, Bill Daily, Jack Riley, and, Suzanne Pleshette, foreground left, and Dick Martin at TV Land's 35th anniversary tribute to "The Bob Newhart Show" on Sept. 5, 2007, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Newhart has died at age 94. Jerry Digney, Newhart’s publicist, says the actor died July 18 in Los Angeles after a series of short illnesses. The accountant-turned-comedian gained fame with a smash album and became one of the most popular TV stars of his time. Newhart was a Chicago psychologist in “The Bob Newhart Show” in the 1970s and a Vermont innkeeper on “Newhart” in the 1980s. Both shows featured a low-key Newhart surrounded by eccentric characters. The second had a twist ending in its final show — the whole series was revealed to have been a dream by the psychologist he played in the other show. Cheng Pei-pei, a Chinese-born martial arts film actor who starred in Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” died July 17 at age 78. Her family says Cheng, who had been diagnosed with a rare illness with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, passed away Wednesday at home surrounded by her loved ones. The Shanghai-born film star became a household name in Hong Kong, once dubbed the Hollywood of the Far East, for her performances in martial arts movies in the 1960s. She played Jade Fox, who uses poisoned needles, in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” which was released in 2000, grossed $128 million in North America and won four Oscars. Abdul “Duke” Fakir holds his life time achievement award backstage at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 8, 2009, in Los Angeles. The last surviving original member of the Four Tops died July 22. Abdul “Duke” Fakir was 88. He was a charter member of the Motown group along with lead singer Levi Stubbs, Renaldo “Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton. Between 1964 and 1967, the Tops had 11 top 20 hits and two No. 1′s: “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and the operatic classic “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” Other songs, often stories of romantic pain and longing, included “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” “Bernadette” and “Just Ask the Lonely.” Sculptress Elizabeth Catlett, left, then-Washington D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon, center, and then-curator, division of community life, Smithsonian institution Bernice Johnson Reagon chat during the reception at the Candace awards on June 25, 1991 in New York. Reagon, a musician and scholar who used her rich, powerful contralto voice in the service of the American Civil Rights Movement and human rights struggles around the world, died on July 16, 2024, according to her daughter's social media post. She was 81. John Mayall, the British blues musician whose influential band the Bluesbreakers was a training ground for Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood and many other superstars, died July 22. He was 90. He is credited with helping develop the English take on urban, Chicago-style rhythm and blues that played an important role in the blues revival of the late 1960s. A statement on Mayall's official Instagram page says he died Monday at his home in California. Though Mayall never approached the fame of some of his illustrious alumni, he was still performing in his late 80s, pounding out his version of Chicago blues. Erica Ash, an actor and comedian skilled in sketch comedy who starred in the parody series “Mad TV” and “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” has died. She was 46. Her publicist and a statement by her mother, Diann, says Ash died July 28 in Los Angeles of cancer. Ash impersonated Michelle Obama and Condoleeza Rice on “Mad TV,” a Fox sketch series, and was a key performer on the Rosie O’Donnell-created series “The Big Gay Sketch Show.” Her other credits included “Scary Movie V,” “Uncle Drew” and the LeBron James-produced basketball dramedy “Survivor’s Remorse.” On the BET series “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” Ash played the ex-wife of Kevin Hart’s character. Jack Russell, the lead singer of the bluesy '80s metal band Great White whose hits included “Once Bitten Twice Shy” and “Rock Me” and was fronting his band the night 100 people died in a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island, died Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. He was 63. Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, a Hall of Fame golfer whose antics on the greens and inspiring life story made him among the sport’s most popular players during a long professional career, died Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. Susan Wojcicki, the former YouTube chief executive officer and longtime Google executive, died Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after suffering with non small cell lung cancer for the past two years. She was 56. Frank Selvy, an All-America guard at Furman who scored an NCAA Division I-record 100 points in a game and later played nine NBA seasons, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. He was 91. Wallace “Wally” Amos, the creator of the cookie empire that took his name and made it famous and who went on to become a children’s literacy advocate, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, from complications with dementia. He was 88. Gena Rowlands, hailed as one of the greatest actors to ever practice the craft and a guiding light in independent cinema as a star in groundbreaking movies by her director husband, John Cassavetes, and who later charmed audiences in her son's tear-jerker “The Notebook,” died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. She was 94. Peter Marshall, the actor and singer turned game show host who played straight man to the stars for 16 years on “The Hollywood Squares,” died. Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 He was 98. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, died Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. He was 88. Phil Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre that brought success to Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others, died Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024, after a long illness. He was 88. Al Attles, a Hall of Famer who coached the 1975 NBA champion Warriors and spent more than six decades with the organization as a player, general manager and most recently team ambassador, died Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. He was 87. John Amos, who starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries “Roots,” died Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. He was 84. James Darren, a teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a charismatic beach boy paired off with Sandra Dee in the hit film “Gidget,” died Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. He was 88. James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen has died. He was 93. His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Sept. 9 at home. Jones was a pioneering actor who eventually lent his deep, commanding voice to CNN, “The Lion King” and Darth Vader. Working deep into his 80s, he won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theater was renamed in his honor. Frankie Beverly, who with his band Maze inspired generations of fans with his smooth, soulful voice and lasting anthems including “Before I Let Go,” has died. He was 77. His family said in a post on the band’s website and social media accounts that Beverly died Sept. 10. In the post, which asked for privacy, the family said “he lived his life with a pure soul, as one would say, and for us, no one did it better.” The post did not say his cause of death or where he died. Beverly, whose songs include “Joy and Pain,” “Love is the Key,” and “Southern Girl,” finished his farewell “I Wanna Thank You Tour” in his hometown of Philadelphia in July. Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92. The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Sept. 11. A cause of death was not provided. One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000. Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt. Chad McQueen, an actor known for his performances in the “Karate Kid” movies and the son of the late actor and racer Steve McQueen, died Sep. 11. His lawyer confirmed his death at age 63. McQueen's family shared a statement on social media saying he lived a life “filled with love and dedication.” McQueen was a professional race car driver, like his father, and competed in the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona races. He is survived by his wife Jeanie and three children, Chase, Madison and Steven, who is an actor best known for “The Vampire Diaries.” Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5, died at age 70 on Sept. 15. Jackson was the third of nine children, including global superstars Michael and Janet. The Jackson 5 included brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael. They signed with Berry Gordy’s Motown empire in the 1960s. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and produced several No. 1 hits in the 1970s, including “ABC,” “I Want You Back” and “I’ll Be There.” John David “JD” Souther has died. He was a prolific songwriter and musician whose collaborations with the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt helped shape the country-rock sound that took root in Southern California in the 1970s. Souther joined in on some of the Eagles’ biggest hits, such as “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” and “Heartache Tonight." The Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee also collaborated with James Taylor, Bob Seger, Bonnie Raitt and many more. His biggest hit as a solo artist was “You’re Only Lonely.” He was about to tour with Karla Bonoff. Souther died Sept. 17 at his home in New Mexico, at 78. In this photo, JD Souther and Alison Krauss attend the Songwriters Hall of Fame 44th annual induction and awards gala on Thursday, June 13, 2013 in New York. Sen. Dan Evans stands with his three sons, from left, Mark, Bruce and Dan Jr., after he won the election for Washington's senate seat in Seattle, Nov. 8, 1983. Evans, a former Washington state governor and a U.S. Senator, died Sept. 20. The popular Republican was 98. He served as governor from 1965 to 1977, and he was the keynote speaker at the 1968 National Republican Convention. In 1983, Evans was appointed to served out the term of Democratic Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson after he died in office. Evans opted not to stand for election in 1988, citing the “tediousness" of the Senate. He later served as a regent at the University of Washington, where the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance bears his name. Eugene “Mercury” Morris, who starred for the unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins as part of a star-studded backfield and helped the team win two Super Bowl titles, died Sept. 21. He was 77. The team on Sunday confirmed the death of Morris, a three-time Pro Bowl selection. In a statement, his family said his “talent and passion left an indelible mark on the sport.” Morris was the starting halfback and one of three go-to runners that Dolphins coach Don Shula utilized in Miami’s back-to-back title seasons of 1972 and 1973, alongside Pro Football Hall of Famer Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick. Morris led the Dolphins in rushing touchdowns in both of those seasons. John Ashton, the veteran character actor who memorably played the gruff but lovable police detective John Taggart in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films, died Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. He was 76. Maggie Smith, who won an Oscar for 1969 film “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and won new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in “Downton Abbey” and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died Sept. 27 at 89. Smith's publicist announced the news Friday. She was frequently rated the preeminent British female performer of a generation that included Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench. “Jean Brodie” brought her the Academy Award for best actress in 1969. Smith added a supporting actress Oscar for “California Suite” in 1978. Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor, died Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. He was 88. Drake Hogestyn, the “Days of Our Lives” star who appeared on the show for 38 years, died Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. He was 70. Ron Ely, the tall, musclebound actor who played the title character in the 1960s NBC series “Tarzan,” died Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, at age 86. Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, from brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58. Frank Fritz, left, part of a two-man team who drove around the U.S. looking for antiques and collectibles to buy and resell on the reality show “American Pickers,” died Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. He was 60. He's shown here with co-host Mike Wolfe at the A+E Networks 2015 Upfront in New York on April 30, 2015. Pete Rose, baseball’s career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied, died Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. He was 83. Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston and a two-time Grammy winner who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, died Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in her New Jersey home. She was 91. Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, her family said. She was 96. Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, whose chart-topping British boy band generated a global following of swooning fans, was found dead Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, local officials said. He was 31. Mitzi Gaynor, among the last survivors of the so-called golden age of the Hollywood musical, died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. She was 93. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. He was 63. Jack Jones, a Grammy-winning crooner known for “The Love Boat” television show theme song, died, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. He was 86. Phil Lesh, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, died Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at age 84. Teri Garr, the quirky comedy actor who rose from background dancer in Elvis Presley movies to co-star of such favorites as "Young Frankenstein" and "Tootsie," died Tuesday, Oct 29, 2024. She was 79. Quincy Jones, the multitalented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic “Thriller” album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, died Sunday, Nov 3, 2024. He was 91 Bobby Allison, founder of racing’s “Alabama Gang” and a NASCAR Hall of Famer, died Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. He was 86. Song Jae-lim, a South Korean actor known for his roles in K-dramas “Moon Embracing the Sun” and “Queen Woo,” was found dead at his home in capital Seoul, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. He was 39. British actor Timothy West, who played the classic Shakespeare roles of King Lear and Macbeth and who in recent years along with his wife, Prunella Scales, enchanted millions of people with their boating exploits on Britain's waterways, died Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024. He was 90. Bela Karolyi, the charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach who turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power in the sport, died Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. He was 82. Arthur Frommer, whose "Europe on 5 Dollars a Day" guidebooks revolutionized leisure travel by convincing average Americans to take budget vacations abroad, died Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. He was 95. Former Chicago Bulls forward Bob Love, a three-time All-Star who spent 11 years in the NBA, died Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. He was 81. Chuck Woolery, the affable, smooth-talking game show host of “Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection” and “Scrabble” who later became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about COVID-19, died Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. He was 83. Barbara Taylor Bradford, a British journalist who became a publishing sensation in her 40s with the saga "A Woman of Substance" and wrote more than a dozen other novels that sold tens of millions of copies, died Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. She was 91. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, the brash speedster who shattered stolen base records and redefined baseball's leadoff position, died Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. He was 65. Obituaries Newsletter Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries delivered to your inbox.GUANGZHOU: Nio unveiled a lower-cost brand named Firefly on Saturday that it touted as a rival to Mercedes’ Smart and BMW’s Mini in the Chinese electric vehicle maker’s latest bid to broaden its customer base and boost sales. CEO William Li announced the new brand at an annual company event in Guangzhou and said pre-sales would start immediately with prices starting at 148,800 yuan ($20,394). He displayed three Firefly cars in lavender, lemon and beige and said the car offered a tight 4.7 metre turning radius and autonomous parking technology. Customers can place orders on the Firefly app, which said the cars would be officially launched in April. “We are building the Firefly car to be smarter than Mini and be more Mini than smart cars,” Li said. BMW’s pure electric Mini also sells from 148,800 yuan in China while Mercedes’ Smart #1 car is priced from 154,900 yuan. Domestic brands Firefly will compete against include BYD’s Seal and Xpeng’s Mona. Nio, one of China’s largest EV players by sales, has been fighting rising price competition in China by launching cheaper models this year, having earlier in May unveiled another it called “Onvo”. Nio, which has limited European sales numbering in the hundreds of vehicles per year, had originally planned the Firefly brand to boost its share in Europe, its executives said previously. It would have taken on Renault, Stellantis’ Fiat and Peugeot and BMW’s Mini in a European small car segment with annual demand for 4 million cars. But the European Commission in October imposed an additional tariff of more than 20% on Nio’s cars including Firefly EVs exported from China to the region for the next five years. Analysts said this will largely undermine the brand’s price competitiveness. Li did not detail plans for where Firefly would be sold during the event. Nio has targets to double its sales in 2025 and achieve break-even in 2026 but said this month its sales growth was two years behind schedule. Reuters reported in November that Nio was planning to launch its first extended range hybrid model under the Firefly brand in 2026 for sales in overseas markets only.
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