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Way back in January, when the stink of a 5-7 season was still lingering on South Carolina, Shane Beamer held his first team meeting for the 2024 Gamecocks. He made a comment about a bowl game at the end of the season, how South Carolina was going to get back to the postseason after missing it for the first time in Beamer’s tenure. Right after the meeting, five-star freshman edge rusher Dylan Stewart — who might have been on campus for 48 hours — walked up to his new coach with a declaration. “Enough of this bowl stuff,” Beamer said Stewart told him. “We have higher expectations that that.” On Saturday afternoon in the bowels of Memorial Stadium, Beamer sat behind the podium after South Carolina’s 17-14 win over No. 12 Clemson , having earned the chance to make his case for the Gamecocks as a College Football Playoff team. “I do believe we deserve a spot in the 12-team playoff,” Beamer said. “I get it, the committee has a really tough job. They have to choose the 12 best teams. I get it, we’ve got three losses. “When you look at our strength of schedule (No. 15 in FBS), our wins on the road (4-1) in tough environments,” he continued, “we aren’t playing in front of 20,000 people like some teams do. We go into hostile environments every single week. Our only loss on the road is a two-point loss” at Alabama. The No. 15 Gamecocks (9-3) went into Saturday in the playoff picture but, per ESPN’s Playoff Predictor, had just a 58% chance of making the 12-team field with a win over Clemson (9-3). But then they actually beat the Tigers, defeating another ranked team to finish the season on a six-game winning streak. If the playoff is about finding the true top dozen teams, Beamer argued, how could South Carolina be left out? “If the committee’s job is to pick the 12 best teams,” Beamer said, “you tell me on selection Sunday, if South Carolina pops up in that bracket, I don’t know anyone that would be excited about playing this team the way we’re playing. That is what I judge it on.” Whether or not it will be a part of the selection committee’s decision when they choose the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff field next Sunday, Beamer made a pretty convincing point. To look across college football is to see a bunch of mercurial teams. On Friday, Georgia needed eight overtimes to beat a 7-5 Georgia Tech team . Just as the Clemson-South Carolina game went final, Michigan (7-5) knocked off No. 2 Ohio State. And that all comes just a week after six teams ranked in the Top 16 lost. Yet, South Carolina just keeps winning. The Gamecocks have not faltered since Oct. 12 . While they do have three blemishes on their record — losses to LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama — there’s no truly ugly loss. “I don’t know if there is a hotter team in America than what we are,” Beamer said. “Six wins in a row, four over ranked opponents, on the road for two of them. Outside of the Alabama loss, this was the first close road game we had all season. “We are hot,” he added. “You want to be a team that is playing their best football at the end of the season. We sure are.” When is the next College Football Playoff rankings release? The next College Football Playoff show and Top 25 release is 7 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN. The final CFP selections and playoff bracket will be revealed at noon next Sunday, Dec. 8. This story was originally published November 30, 2024, 6:00 PM.Norris defies orders to help Piastri and Verstappen loses the Qatar pole to Russell

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s attorney general has ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and witnesses in the Israeli leader’s corruption trial. The Israeli Justice Ministry made the announcement in a terse message late Thursday, saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the “Uvda” investigative program into Sara Netanyahu. The program uncovered a trove of WhatsApp messages in which Mrs. Netanyahu appears to instruct a former aid to organize protests against political opponents and to intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial. The announcement did not mention Mrs. Netanyahu by name, and the Justice Ministry declined further comment. But in a video released earlier Thursday, Netanyahu listed what he said were the many kind and charitable acts by his wife and blasted the Uvda report as “lies.” It was the latest in a long line of legal troubles for the Netanyahus — highlighted by the prime minister’s ongoing corruption trial . Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases alleging he exchanged favors with powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. Netanyahu denies the charges and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt” by overzealous prosecutors, police and the media. The Associated Press

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( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a lawsuit has been filed against Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ: MQ) and certain of the Company's senior executives for potential violations of the federal securities laws. If you invested in Marqeta, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting . Investors have until February 7, 2025, to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors in Marqeta securities. The first-filed case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and is captioned Wai v. Marqeta, Inc., et al., No. 24-cv-8874. Why was Marqeta Sued for Securities Fraud? Marqeta is a financial technology company that provides a card issuing platform, enabling businesses to create and manage customized payment cards. During the relevant period, Marqeta discussed its ability to attract and retain customers while continuing to achieve operational efficiencies given the purported investments it already made into its compliance infrastructure. In truth, it is alleged that at the time the statements were made, Marqeta experienced longer customer onboarding timelines caused by heightened regulatory scrutiny and insufficient investments into the Company's compliance apparatus. The Stock Declines as the Truth is Revealed On November 4, 2024, the Company reported its third quarter 2024 financial results and cut its full year 2025 growth outlook, due to“heightened scrutiny of the banking environment and specific customer program changes.” On the earnings call the same day, the Company revealed that“the regulatory scrutiny” had“clearly ratcheted up” in the“first few months of 2024.” Marqeta also admitted that the impact the increased scrutiny had on the Company's business“became apparent over the last few months.” This news caused the price of the Company's stock to fall over 42%, from a closing price of $5.95 per share on November 4, 2024, to $3.42 per share on November 5, 2024. Click here if you suffered losses: . What Can You Do? If you invested in Marqeta you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm. All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses. Submit your information by visiting: Or contact: Ross Shikowitz ... 212-789-3619 Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP? Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It was named among the Top 5 plaintiff law firms by ISS SCAS in 2023 and its attorneys have been named Titans of the Plaintiffs' Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thompson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors (pending court approval), as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd. For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit . Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above. MENAFN28122024003118003196ID1109037491 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.Ecommerce is losing money to fraud – and looking towards biometrics

NoneSecurity forces recovered a significant cache of weapons near MS 27 along the Miao-Vijaynagar axis in Arunachal Pradesh‘s Changlang district. The joint operation, conducted under the Spear Corps, involved Assam Rifles, the Army, and local police. Extensive search efforts by specialized teams, supported by advanced technology such as high-tech drones, tracker dogs, and metal detectors, led to the discovery. “During the operation, ten Chinese-origin MQ 81 Assault Rifles/Type 81 Assault Rifles were recovered from different locations around MS 27,” an Army official stated. “This constitutes one of the largest recoveries of such weapons in South Arunachal in recent times. The weapons were concealed within a forested area,” he said. He further explained that these weapons had been sought by major insurgent groups operating in the Changlang district for over six months. It is believed that these weapons were buried by the Eastern Naga National Government (ENNG) before their surrender last year. “Prior to the operation, security personnel ensured the safe passage of tourists present in Namdapha Reserve Forest for birdwatching,” the official said. Numerous inputs have been received over the past six months regarding attempts by various insurgent groups, particularly the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) (NSCN-IM) and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) (NSCN-KYA), with the assistance of former ENNG cadres, to recover this cache.

By Lauren Hepler | CalMatters Kim Tanner didn’t expect to become a fraud detective when she filed for disability with the California Employment Development Department. But in mid-July, $3,161 vanished from her online account with the state’s new debit card contractor, Money Network, according to Tanner’s complaints to government regulators. Someone had gotten access to her online debit card account, added a new bank account and transferred out her money, all without any notifications, she wrote in the complaints. Tanner told Money Network told her it could take 90 days to investigate, and that she may or may not get a full refund, leaving her short on rent money. She turned to social media and saw similar horror stories on Reddit and Facebook. “My head exploded,” Tanner said. “This was happening to tons of people.” So she started filing complaints. First with Money Network, its parent company Fiserv and the EDD. Then with a state senator and a half-dozen financial regulators. “It just went on and on and on,” said Tanner, who got her money back via paper check about a month and a half later, after a federal agency intervened. “This needs to be investigated.” A CalMatters investigation a year ago exposed how the EDD’s unemployment system crashed during the pandemic, the result of historic job losses, years of missed warning signs and poor contractor performance. As a result, the system at first failed to stop widespread fraud, then cut off access to millions of real people who used it as a crucial lifeline. Now, even with a new payment contractor in place, concerns about fraud linger for people who rely on unemployment and disability programs run by the EDD. Multiple lawsuits and 74 federal consumer complaints about government debit cards have been filed by Californians against Money Network this year alone. The EDD and the company say the debit card fraud is smaller scale than the varied forms of fraud during the pandemic. On top of the fraud complaints, a report released Monday by the Legislative Analyst’s Office warns that lawmakers are failing to address a bigger unemployment problem: a “broken” financial model, one that threatens the whole system. California’s unemployment fund is still $20 billion in debt to the federal government after the state took out loans to cover pandemic benefits, costing taxpayers $1 billion in annual interest — more than the state spends on child welfare. Now, after years of ignoring calls to modernize the state’s 1980s-era unemployment tax code, the system is on track to lose $2 billion a year as it fails to bring in enough revenue to cover unemployment expenses, according to the report. The Legislative Analyst’s Office, which provides fiscal and policy advice to state lawmakers, says the state needs to bring unemployment taxes in line with other states to cover the deficit. “This is entirely avoidable,” said LAO policy analyst Chas Alamo. A person with blonde hair and wearing a black and white flower pattern blouse stands in the living room of their home while looking towards their left. A computer screen showing a subreddit with various posts by users asking questions or sharing their experiences with money fraud and identity theft. A person with blond hair can be seen in the foreground looking towards the screen. The recommendations could force a reckoning for lawmakers caught between business and labor advocates. Business groups have fought tax increases, favoring California’s current lowest-in-the-nation unemployment tax base. Labor groups argue that taxes must go up to stabilize the system. Then, they say, lawmakers should evaluate measures to expand which workers are eligible for unemployment or raise California’s $450-a-week maximum payment, which is also lower than many other states . What happens next will be one test of how legislative leaders respond to voters’ rebuke of Democratic leadership nationwide, with the Legislature’s Democratic leadership pledging to do more to make California a less expensive place to live. Meanwhile, the EDD has already secured funding for an unprecedented five-year, $1.2 billion effort called EDDNext to finally modernize the call centers, software and websites that power the state’s job safety net — a more ambitious version of past modernization efforts that crumbled during the pandemic. Whether or not history will repeat itself is complicated by unanswered questions about what went wrong at the EDD during the pandemic and how the state scrambled to recover. Former California labor chief Julie Su went on to become acting U.S. labor secretary and one of the longest-unconfirmed presidential nominees in history, thanks in part to criticism over unemployment fraud. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has denied CalMatters’ repeated requests for internal records from this period, citing an exemption that allows the governor to keep his communications secret if he chooses. During the pandemic, a wide range of fraud schemes hit the unemployment system at once. Global hackers used large-scale identity theft. Low-level social media scammers and prison inmates adopted fake names to file for benefits under emergency federal programs that waived normal identity checks. Debit card scammers cloned insecure EDD cards then run by Bank of America and drained the accounts. Millions of real California workers got caught up in the mess, state audits found. Some saw their EDD accounts flagged as suspicious due to clerical errors, communication failures or faulty fraud software. Laid-off workers saw EDD debit cards overdrawn by thousands of dollars or cut off as the bank and the state scrambled to rein in fraud. California and other states were partially let off the hook when the federal government agreed to absorb the bulk of the billions lost to fraud in emergency programs. After Bank of America pulled out of the unemployment business last year, the EDD tried to turn the page on debit card fraud by hiring Georgia finance tech company Money Network to take over. The scope and details of the current fraud that workers allege isn’t clear. State auditors and financial regulators haven’t analyzed it; lawsuits and regulatory complaints only show that money disappeared from workers’ accounts, not how it was taken. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which previously fined Bank of America $100 million over what it called “botched” pandemic unemployment payments, declined to answer questions about new complaints. The bureau’s public records show that Californians have filed 149 complaints against Money Network since 2022, when the company first started running a different state debit card program, with 101 complaints mentioning government cards. Money Network said in a statement that “only a small percentage of EDD recipients have reported suspected fraud,” and that anyone concerned should “call the number listed on the back of their card.” The EDD and Money Network also now allow direct deposit, giving people the option of skipping debit cards altogether. Since direct deposit launched in June, about 15% of new applicants have opted for debit cards, the EDD said in a statement. The agency could not immediately say how many of its hundreds of thousands of existing customers still use debit cards. “Anyone who suspects they are a victim of fraud should take steps to protect themselves and file a fraud report ,” the EDD said in a statement. A close-up view of a flyer for identity theft resources and information that sits on top on other various documentation on a desk. Lea Bitton was still reeling from a high-risk pregnancy when it happened to her. One evening in June, the Orange County resident logged into her Money Network disability account and realized that $4,000 was missing. She relied on the EDD money to cover her family’s costs during parental leave. Someone Bitton didn’t know had hacked into her account, according to a lawsuit she filed against Money Network. Similar to Tanner’s case in Carlsbad, a new electronic transfer was set up for someone with a different name and bank account, and Bitton was never asked to authorize the change before the money disappeared. Matthew Loker, Bitton’s attorney, said the fraud appears similar to some EDD debit card fraud cases that he handled during the pandemic. “It’s deja vu a little bit,” Loker said. “It’s a difficult problem, but it shouldn’t be the consumers who are left holding the bag.” If fraud occurs once unemployment or disability money has already been transferred from the EDD to Money Network, the state’s contract says that Money Network is responsible for investigating and reimbursing clients if necessary. But some people with EDD Money Network debit cards say that it isn’t always easy to figure out how to start that process. In Los Angeles, Greg Zekowski filed for unemployment while in between film projects. He hadn’t even used his EDD Money Network debit card yet, he said, when he logged into the online account and saw several unfamiliar charges to Uber and other retailers. He called Money Network. “Their response was, ‘The problem is EDD,’” Zekowski said. So he called the EDD: “Their response was, ‘It’s all them.’” The EDD and its contractors aren’t alone. The state’s food assistance and college financial aid programs are also among the many financial systems facing mounting fraud risks. One broader challenge is how few financial institutions bid on government benefit projects. The lack of options puts more pressure on agencies working to secure debit cards and other payments, according to a 2023 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau . “Providers may face minimal competitive pressure from program innovation, new entrants, or customer choice,” the report authors wrote, “which may exacerbate or cause the issues with fees and customer service that benefits recipients face.” While the EDD and the people who rely on it play whack-a-mole with fraud, California has big decisions to make about the future of the state’s job safety net. If the state continues to do nothing, the LAO projected this week, it will have no unemployment reserves and become even more reliant on loans from the federal government to weather future recessions, likely costing taxpayers billions more in interest. Or the state can bite the bullet, as many others have, and change the way it pays for unemployment. First, the LAO recommends that businesses pay a flat 1.9% unemployment tax while digging out of debt. California companies also currently only pay unemployment taxes on the first $7,000 a worker earns each year. Instead, the LAO recommends taxing employers on workers’ first $46,800 in earnings — higher than some neighbors like Nevada, but lower than Washington, Idaho and Oregon. “We understand that the scope of the recommendations that we’re putting forward in this report are significant,” said LAO analyst Ann Hollingshead. “This is just an honest reflection of the severity of the underlying problems in the system.” State legislatures last revamped unemployment taxes in 1984. And businesses are already voicing opposition to temporary tax hikes to pay down California’s deep federal debt. One bill to recalibrate how the system is paid for — raising unemployment taxes to eventually increase weekly benefits — died in committee this year. Robert Moutrie, a policy advocate for the California Chamber of Commerce, said that the business group is still reviewing the details of the LAO proposal. In the past, the Chamber has favored tightening unemployment eligibility to reduce benefit payments, labeling any form of tax increases and proposals to expand the unemployment system “ job killers .” Daniela Urban, executive director of the Sacramento Center for Workers’ Rights, said there is broad agreement on how unstable the current situation is but disagreement on where to go from here. She and other labor advocates say that unemployment is one area where California businesses have long underpaid compared to other states, and that the system has not kept up with non-traditional jobs and increasing costs of living. “We’re in a huge hole, and that’s not financially acceptable,” Urban said. “But how and when to make those changes I think is what the contention is.” In addition to the funding hole, the pandemic revealed other problems at EDD. Tech systems buckled : jammed call centers, spotty online accounts and a patchwork behind-the-scenes process for tracking unemployment claims. The agency is currently overhauling these systems with EDDNext. Last year, the agency hired Salesforce to remake the MyEDD online system that workers use to manage their accounts. It brought in Amazon Web Services to update and integrate EDD phone systems that left as many as 40 million calls a month unanswered during the pandemic. Early next year, the state will award a contract for the biggest chunk of the project — a new central system for EDD personnel to manage claims, which comes with more than 600 pages of specifications. “We are making tremendous investments in modernizing EDD and the work is going well,” the agency said in a statement.

Arkansas DE Landon Jackson carted off field and taken to hospital with neck injury

Indian Consulate demands action Telangana student Shot Dead in ChicagoA Utah man was left stumped by a seemingly "impossible" word search puzzle for kids that was shared with him by an equally baffled friend. Word searches and other cognitively stimulating activities have been found to provide a boost to brain health, particularly as we get older. In 2021, a study published in the journal Neurology saw researchers ask 1,903 older individuals without dementia to report on how often they engaged in cognitively stimulating activities. These activities included things like reading books, writing letters, visiting the library and playing games like puzzles or board games. The study, which spanned seven years, found individuals with high levels of cognitive activity developed Alzheimer's at a later age - five years after those with lower levels of cognitive activity. Tom, a puzzle enthusiast from Millcreek, Utah, has been enjoying plenty of cognitive activity of late, though "enjoying" might not actually be the right word. A week or so ago, he was sent a seemingly innocuous children's word search by one of his friends. He remembers being a little confused because, firstly, it was for kids, and secondly, his friend told him they were having real trouble solving it. "The puzzle was in a little local newsletter that gets sent out about once a month," Tom told Newsweek . "My friend started working on it, and got stuck at some point and asked me for help." Though he's not usually one for kids' puzzles , there was something about the way his friend described the word search that made him intrigued. "They phrased it in a 'am I crazy or is this puzzle impossible ?' kind of way." The festive-themed puzzle, which came as part of "Milo's Kid Corner," listed 11 different words to find, including "snow," "icicle" and "skating." "Help Milo find some of his holiday favorites," the sheet read. "Circle the words in the puzzle and have fun." While Tom's friend had achieved the first of those two calls to action, they were not having a great deal of "fun" for reasons Tom eventually discovered. "This word search is missing several words," he said. "It took me like three attempts at scanning through letter by letter before I thought something was up." Online Assistance The apparent lack of words left Tom scratching his head. "It seems like such an easy thing to avoid, you know?" he said. Eager to get some second opinions, he posted a screenshot of the word search to Reddit under the handle u/the_portals . It sparked a healthy discussion. "We started coming up with theories for how this could've happened," he said. Eventually, a couple of interesting theories emerged. "Some of the commenters on the original post pointed out that the puzzle only asks you to find 'some' of the words, so technically it isn't broken," Tom said. "We also thought that they could've asked ChatGPT to generate the puzzle, and just copy-pasted it into the newsletter without double-checking." Tom has his own ideas about what led to this though. "Personally, I choose to believe it's intentionally missing words, so you set it in front of your kid to keep them busy for a while," he said. If that is the case, then credit to whoever came up with the word search. It hasn't only kept the kids busy, but a fair few adults as well.

He drew the roadmap of India's economic reform, unshackled it from the licence raj and pulled it back from the brink when even all its gold reserve was pledged. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was the scholar and architect of the India of today who evolved into a stubbornly resolute politician. Unassuming, erudite, soft-spoken and a consensus builder, Manmohan Singh died on Thursday night at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He was 92. The Congress leader, who steered the country for 10 years from 2004-2014 and helped set up the country's economic framework as finance minister before that, was a renowned name in the global financial and economic sectors. His government introduced pathbreaking initiatives like Right to Information (RTI), Right to Education (RTE) and MNREGA. The man who famously spoke of studying under the dim light of kerosene lamps in his village without electricity and went on to become a storied academic was the copybook reluctant politician, almost stumbling into the rough and tumble of mainstream politics. He was the proverbial dark horse when Sonia Gandhi stepped back from taking the prime minister's post, ignoring the clamour from her party, and chose him instead. And so Manmohan Singh the academic bureaucrat became the 14th prime minister of India in 2004. Theirs was a partnership that lasted 10 years, the equation between Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh often cited for its equanimity and an example of how a working relationship should really be. Notwithstanding the inevitable tensions. Manmohan Singh also had to balance the interests of the United Progressive Alliance's coalition partners. N N Vohra, a former Jammu and Kashmir governor, said Dr Singh always "stood firm as a rock in pursuing the ethical path even if he got into trouble with the political party he represented". In 2014, the UPA was voted out in a cloud of corruption scams, establishing BJP's unbroken rule since then. Hailed for putting India on the road to liberalisation and privatisation in the early 1990s, Dr Singh was criticised for turning a blind eye to charges of corruption. The going often got tough. During his first tenure as prime minister, the coalition began to unravel when India signed a civil nuclear deal with the US. It almost cost his government with the Left parties pulling out of the UPA coalition. However, his government survived. On July 22, 2008, the UPA faced its first confidence vote in the Lok Sabha after the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Front withdrew support over India approaching the IAEA for Indo-US nuclear deal. The UPA won the confidence vote with 275 votes to the opposition's 256, with a record thin 19-vote victory after 10 MPs abstained. During the fag end of his tenure as prime minister, when he was seen defending his government's record and the Congress' positions on controversial issues such as the 2G scam, Dr Singh spoke up and declared he was not weak. "I honestly hope history would be kinder to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition parties in Parliament," he had said famously in January 2004. More than two decades later, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reacted to Dr Singh's death with a poignant post on X: "Undoubtedly, history shall judge you kindly, Dr. Manmohan Singh ji!" The decade with Singh at the helm of affairs is widely believed to be an era unprecedented growth and prosperity. His journey to the acme of India's governance and political power is unique in the annals of India's politics. Dr Singh, always seen in a powder blue turban, was appointed India's finance minister in 1991 in the Narasimha Rao government. His role in ushering in a comprehensive policy of economic reforms is now recognised worldwide. In January 1991, India struggled to finance its essential imports, especially of oil and fertilisers, and to repay official debt. In July 1991, the RBI pledged 46.91 tonnes of gold with the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan to raise $400 million. Manmohan Singh soon steered the economy well and was quick to repurchase it months later. Vohra, who at the time served successively as defence and home secretary said he had to be at then finance minister Singh's door daily, "literally begging for some financial relief for the department I was serving". Born to Gurmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur on September 26, 1932, in village Gah in the Punjab province of undivided India (now Pakistan), Singh completed his matriculation examinations from the Punjab University in 1948. His academic career took him from Punjab to the University of Cambridge, UK, where he earned a First Class Honours degree in Economics in 1957. Singh followed this with a D.Phil in Economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University in 1962. He started his career by teaching in the faculty of Punjab University and the prestigious Delhi School of Economics. He also had a brief stint at the UNCTAD Secretariat and later became secretary general of the South Commission in Geneva between 1987 and 1990. In 1971, Singh joined the government of India as economic advisor in the Commerce ministry. This was soon followed by his appointment as chief economic advisor in the Ministry of Finance in 1972. Among the many governmental positions that he occupied were secretary in the Finance ministry, deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, advisor of the prime minister, and chairperson of the University Grants Commission. His political career started as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1991, where he was leader of the opposition between 1998 and 2004. Interestingly, the two time prime minister had a 33-year parliamentary innings but only as a Rajya Sabha member. He never contested a Lok Sabha election. Singh was often accused by the BJP of running a government that was marred by corruption. The party called him "MaunMohan Singh" alleging that he did not speak out against corrupt leaders in his cabinet. Notwithstanding the many epithets, Singh always maintained his dignity. He is survived by his wife Gursharan Kaur and has three daughters. It is a measure of Singh's understated personality that the country knew little of his family who also went about their lives as low key as they could during his 10 years as prime minister. Singh was quiet but also firm. Sources close to him said Singh had almost made up his mind to quit as prime minister in September 2013 after Rahul Gandhi dubbed the Union Cabinet's decision to bring an ordinance to allow convicted politicians to contest elections "complete nonsense" and recommended it be torn. Singh was abroad at the time. Singh was highly critical of demonetisation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016 and termed it "organised loot and legalised plunder". In reply to the no-confidence motion against his government in 2008, Singh said almost prophetically, "The greatness of democracy is that we are all birds of passage! We are here today, gone tomorrow! But in the brief time that the people of India entrust us with this responsibility, it is our duty to be honest and sincere in the discharge of these responsibilities." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) 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LOS ANGELES, Dec. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crown Electrokinetics Corp. (NASDAQ: CRKN) ("Crown" or the "Company”), a leading provider of innovative technology infrastructure solutions that benefit communities and the environment, today provided a letter to shareholders from its CEO and Chairman, Doug Croxall. Dear Fellow Shareholders, As 2024 comes to a close, I want to reflect on Crown’s accomplishments this year and share our vision for the year ahead. It has been a transformative year for Crown, as we have evolved into a rapidly growing public conglomerate with three diversified divisions: Smart Windows, Fiber Optics, and Water Solutions. This year, we made significant operational progress, achieving key milestones that position Crown for continued growth and success. We expanded our presence across eight U.S. states and two countries, building a robust platform to address critical infrastructure and technology challenges. We are on track to deliver $20 million in revenue for 2024, which is all the more impressive given it was primarily generated in the final three quarters. This achievement reflects our progress and the strong demand for our innovative technology infrastructure solutions. Financially, we are well-positioned to achieve profitability in the first half of 2025, even as we continue to invest strategically in our growth plans. Crown has actively raised capital recently to execute those expansion plans and will close the year with record levels of cash in hand and minimal debt. This achievement reflects our disciplined approach to building a healthy balance sheet and implementing the structure required to support both near-term objectives and long-term expansion. We share in your frustration that our market value, trading at approximately our current cash value, does not yet reflect either Crown’s recent achievements or its immense future potential. However, we remain confident that this disparity will correct itself as we build a company that delivers meaningful impact, sustainable growth, and shareholder value. To ensure we maintain our listing status, we have filed our appeal with NASDAQ and expect to go before the hearing committee likely in early February. We will provide timely updates as they become available to Crown. In preparation, we have filed a Proxy Statement ahead of the Special Meeting on January 14th and are requesting approval to execute a reverse stock split to maintain bid-price compliance. We strongly urge our shareholders to favorably vote their approximately 64 million voting shares, and to provide Crown with the flexibility and financial strength needed to continue delivering against our growth plans. 2024 Division Highlights Smart Windows Fiber Optics Water Solutions Slant Wells Lead Pipes: Element 82 & PE Pipelines 2025 Outlook As we look ahead to 2025, Crown is stronger, more focused, and better positioned than ever to capitalize on new opportunities. With momentum across our three divisions, we are committed to achieving profitability in the first half of 2025, expanding our footprint to meet increasing demand, and delivering innovative infrastructure solutions that address critical challenges. Our team of industry experts, with a desire to change the status quo through innovation, is growing rapidly. As we scale, we are actively refining our business processes to align with our growing operations while maintaining agility and focus. Looking ahead, we provided full year 2025 revenue guidance between $30 million and $35 million, underscoring the expected strength of our business to come. To our shareholders, thank you for your trust and confidence as we continue to execute our vision. While our stock price does not yet reflect the intrinsic value of Crown, we remain focused on building a company that delivers meaningful impact, sustainable growth, and shareholder value. Approving the proposed reverse stock split is a critical step in strengthening our position to meet listing requirements, attract new investors, and enhance financial flexibility. Your support is vital to driving Crown’s long-term success and unlocking its full potential. We’re excited for 2025 and look forward to updating you on our progress regularly. Sincerely, Doug Croxall CEO and Chairman, Crown Special Meeting of Stockholders The Company will host a Special Meeting of Stockholders on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Holders of record of Crown’s Common Stock as of the close of business on December 16, 2024, will be entitled to notice of and to vote at the Special Meeting. Additional information regarding the Special Meeting, including how to vote, are available via proxy materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and can be found at https://ir.crownek.com/sec-filings . About Crown Crown (Nasdaq: CRKN) is an innovative infrastructure solutions provider dedicated to benefiting communities and the environment. Comprised of three business divisions, Smart Windows, Fiber Optics, and Water Solutions, Crown is developing and delivering cutting edge solutions that are challenging the status quo and redefining industry standards. For more information, please visit www.crownek.com . Forward Looking Statements Certain statements in this news release may be "forward-looking statements" (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) regarding future events or Crown’s future financial performance that involve certain contingencies and uncertainties, including those discussed in Crown’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and subsequent reports Crown files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, in the sections entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” . Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that express our intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions, or any other statements relating to our future activities or other future events or conditions. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and are likely to, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and Crown Electrokinetic Corporation undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release. This press release does not constitute a public offer of any securities for sale. Any securities offered privately will not be or have not been registered under the Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. For more information, please contact: Investor Relations ir@crownek.com Public Relations pr@crownek.comNYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #299 (Friday, December 27 2024)Doubles duo earn shot at another title

The NBA on Saturday suspended three players for their roles in an on-court clash during Friday's game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns. Dallas forward Naji Marshall was suspended for four games and Suns center Jusuf Nurkic for three while Mavericks forward P.J Washington will sit out one game. The incident came with 9:02 remaining in the third quarter when Nurkic committed on offensive foul on Dallas's Daniel Gifford. "Marshall and Nurkic then engaged in an on-court altercation. Nurkic escalated it by swinging his arm and striking Marshall on top of his head. Marshall responded by throwing a punch that connected with Nurkic's face," the NBA said in a statement. "As the officials and other players attempted to diffuse the situation, Washington further escalated the altercation by shoving Nurkic to the floor. For their roles, Marshall, Nurkic and Washington were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game," the league added. Marshall late confronted Nurkic near the locker rooms, in a "hostile manner" according to the NBA. The NBA said the players will not be paid during their suspension periods. sev/bb