quick hit casino slot machines Benjamin Franklin wanted a turkey for the National Bird. The 40-pound bruiser tom hailing from a McCleod County farm that hopped atop the table Tuesday at the State Capitol probably thought the Founding Father was talking about him. “Ahh-yeah,” cheered Gov. Tim Walz, in a laid-back sweater vest and blazer, at the annual Thanksgiving ceremony in the oil-painting-adorned reception room. “If you speak at the Worthington Turkey Day event...you have to kiss the turkey.” No one dared get any closer. Tuesday marked the return of Minnesota farm country’s favorite anticlimactic moment: when state officials recognize, but don’t spare, a turkey from his seasonal dinner-plate fate. Unlike the two lucky birds from Northfield that flew to Washington D.C. this week for high-thread-count sheets at the Willard Intercontinental and a Monday morning pardoning by President Joe Biden at the White House, the turkey named “Tom” by his FFA handler, Paisley VonBerge, and who spread wide his wings for a couple emphatic sweeps before staring down First Lady Gwen Walz, will accept a more traditional turkey fate. “After today, this turkey will go back to my farm to be enjoyed the way turkeys were intended to be enjoyed,” Paisley said. It’s unclear the origin of this Minnesota Nice tradition , though it’s prized in a state with more turkey producers, and processors, than anywhere across the country. Still, Tuesday’s ceremony had added political weight, as the governor, who just weeks ago drew the white-hot spotlight of a U.S. presidential race, continues to return to the ordinary, sometimes mundane ceremonies of running a state. “They do it differently in D.C.,” Walz said, referring to Biden’s pardon. “Here in Minnesota we know turkeys are delicious.” Walz appeared jovial, joking about racing turkeys in Worthington and alluding to a lake near Hutchinson where he and his wife were married. For the second consecutive day, the state’s chief executive, who campaigned since early August as running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris in her ultimately foiled bid for the presidency, took questions from the press behind a podium. Topics ranged from a judge who halted Minnesota’s cannabis business license lottery to mining in northern Minnesota to whether he was regretful for joining Harris. “No regrets,” he said, noting the Harris-Walz ticket campaigned on a message “that 75 million Americans liked, but not quite enough.” On Monday evening, President-elect Donald Trump announced on social media his plan to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, a move that could draw retaliation. Speaking beside Walz on Tuesday, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Peterson noted 74% of the state’s agriculture exports are to Mexico. “Our main partners are always Mexico and Canada,” Petersen said. Asked whether the DFL losing full control of the state House was a verdict on DFL governance, Walz said, “I see a very close and divided country.” It’s also a country that largely comes together for Thanksgiving, for football, a balloon parade in New York City, and turkey, even if the red-wattled, strange-footed, flightless bird never scaled to the heights of the bald eagle.Visualizing the Future: Transforming Decisions Through Data

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada's governing council expects its second straight outsized interest rate cut helped it turn a corner in its fight to tame inflation, but it is watching the economy closely amid weaker than expected growth. The central bank’s summary of deliberations released Monday offers a glimpse into the council’s discussions in the lead up to the Dec. 11 rate cut, which lowered its key interest rate by half a percentage point. Members considered only cutting by a quarter-point, but ultimately brought the rate down to 3.25 per cent in a bid to bring it closer to its so called neutral rate, where it is neither slowing nor speeding up economic growth. They noted that lower immigration targets are likely to weigh on economic growth next year and that tariff threats from incoming U.S. president Donald Trump are a "major new source of uncertainty." Council members also said they'd be considering further rate cuts, but would be taking a more gradual approach given the five consecutive cuts since June, and giving the economy time to respond to them. The next rate decision and quarterly economic forecast are scheduled for Jan. 29. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2024. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press

Controlling matter at the atomic level December 3, 2024 University of Bath Physicists are getting closer to controlling single-molecule chemical reactions -- could this shape the future of pharmaceutical research? Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email Controlling matter at the atomic level has taken a major step forward, thanks to groundbreaking nanotechnology research by an international team of scientists led by physicists at the University of Bath. This advancement has profound implications for fundamental scientific understanding. It is also likely to have important practical applications, such as transforming the way researchers develop new medications. Controlling single-outcome single-molecule reactions is now almost routine in research laboratories across the world. For example, over a decade ago, researchers from the technology giant IBM showcased their ability to manipulate individual atoms by creating A boy and his atom , the world's smallest movie. In the film, single molecules, consisting of two atoms bonded together, were magnified 100-million times and positioned frame-by-frame to tell a stop-motion story on an atomic scale. Achieving control over chemical reactions with multiple outcomes, however, has remained elusive. This matters because generally only some outcomes of a chemical reaction are useful. For instance, during drug synthesis, a chemical process that results in 'cyclisation' produces the desired therapeutic compound, however 'polymerisation', another outcome, leads to unwanted byproducts. Being able to precisely control reactions to favour desired outcomes and reduce unwanted byproducts promises to improve the efficiency and sustainability of pharmaceutical processes. Scanning tunnelling microscopy The new study, published today in the journal Nature Communications , set out to demonstrate for the first time that competing chemical reaction outcomes can be influenced by using the atomic resolution of a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM). Conventional microscopes use light and lenses to magnify specimens, allowing us to view them with the naked eye or a camera. However, when it comes to atoms and molecules, which are smaller than even the shortest wavelengths of visible light, traditional methods fall short. To explore these tiny realms, scientists turn to a scanning tunnelling microscope, which operates much like a record player. With a tip that can be as fine as a single atom, scanning tunnelling microscopes move across a material's surface, measuring properties such as electric current to map each point. However, rather than pressing the tip into the surface like a record player needle, the tip hovers just a single atom's width above it. When connected to a power source, electrons travel down the tip and make a quantum leap across the atom-sized gap. The closer the tip is to the surface, the stronger the current; the farther away it is, the weaker the current. This well-defined relationship between tip distance and current allows the microscope to measure and map the surface of the atom or molecule based on the electric current strength. As the tip sweeps across the surface, it builds a precise, line-by-line image of the surface, revealing details invisible to conventional light microscopes. Single-molecule reactions Using the atomic precision of a scanning tunnelling microscope, scientists can go beyond mapping the surface of a molecule -- they can both reposition single atoms and molecules, and influence and measure the likelihood of specific reaction pathways in individual molecules. Explaining, Dr Kristina Rusimova, who led the study, said: "Typically, STM technology is employed to reposition individual atoms and molecules, enabling targeted chemical interactions, yet the ability to direct reactions with competing outcomes remained a challenge. These different outcomes happen with certain probabilities governed by quantum mechanics -- rather like rolling a molecular die. "Our latest research demonstrates that STM can control the probability of reaction outcomes by selectively manipulating charge states and specific resonances through targeted energy injection." Dr Peter Sloan, senior lecturer in the Department of Physics and co-author of the study, said: "We used the STM tip to inject electrons into toluene molecules, prompting the breaking of chemical bonds and either a shift to a nearby site, or desorption. "We found that the ratio of these two outcomes was controlled by the energy of the electrons injected. This energy dependence allowed us to achieve control over the probability of each reaction outcome through the targeted "heating" of an intermediate molecular state, guided by precise energy thresholds and molecular barriers." PhD student Pieter Keenan, first-author on the research publication, said: "The key here was to maintain identical initial conditions for the test reactions -- matching the precise injection site and excitation state -- and then vary outcomes based solely on the energy of the injected electrons. "Within a single molecule's response to the energy input, the differing reaction barriers drive the reaction outcome probabilities. Altering only the energy input allows us, with high precision, to make a reaction outcome more likely than another -- in this way we can 'load the molecular dice'." Professor Tillmann Klamroth from Potsdam University in Germany, added: "This study combines advanced theoretical modelling with experimental precision, leading to a pioneering understanding of the reactions' probabilities based on the molecular energy landscape. This paves the way for further advances in nanotechnology." Looking ahead, Dr Rusimova said: "With applications in both basic and applied science, this advancement represents a major step toward fully programmable molecular systems. We expect techniques such as this to unlock new frontiers in molecular manufacturing, opening doors to innovations in medicine, clean energy, and beyond." The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. It was funded by The Royal Society, and the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC). Story Source: Materials provided by University of Bath . Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Journal Reference : Cite This Page :Shares of WSP Global Inc. ( OTCMKTS:WSPOF – Get Free Report ) rose 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $180.00 and last traded at $180.00. Approximately 25,011 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 361% from the average daily volume of 5,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.16. WSP Global Price Performance The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.66. About WSP Global ( Get Free Report ) WSP Global Inc operates as a professional services consulting firm in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, and internationally. It advises, plans, designs, and manages projects for rail, transit, aviation, highways, bridges, tunnels, water, maritime, and urban infrastructure for public and private clients, construction contractors, and other partners. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for WSP Global Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WSP Global and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Jimmy Carter passes at 100

Salesforce Earnings, Revenue Top Estimates, Guidance In LineBlencowe Resources (LON:BRES) Stock Price Down 6.7% – Here’s WhyHerro leads Heat over Rockets in game marred by fight and ejections in final minute

Former US president and Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian Jimmy Carter dies aged 100