World Affairs: From U.S. Diplomacy to African PoliticsCompassionate Carbon and Catona Climate Join Forces to Scale Nature-Based ProjectsINDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 19, 2024-- The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC), a global leader in high-speed autonomy, is gearing up for a monumental return to CES 2025 with exciting new developments, including the introduction of multicar racing and the future of physical AI . Set to take place on January 9, 2025 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway from 2-4 PM PST , the Autonomous Challenge at CES 2025 will mark a significant milestone in the development of autonomous technologies, offering attendees a firsthand look at the evolution of AI in high-speed motorsport. A New Era of AI Racing: Multicar Showdown and Tiered Competitions Having introduced the world to head-to-head autonomous racing three years ago at CES, the IAC will attempt another historic feat during CES 2025 with a multicar exhibition race. Teams will run 3-4 autonomous racecars on track at the same time, in a thrilling 20-lap format. This marks a significant leap forward in high-speed autonomy, as the exhibition race will test not just individual car performance but the ability of AI systems to manage complex multi-agent interactions at high speed. The IAC race event at CES2025 will feature a progressive three-tiered structure, designed to ensure teams at every level can actively compete and push the boundaries of their AI driver development: This structure allows for a progressive increase in AI racing difficulty, ensuring all teams, regardless of experience, have a chance to showcase their AI driver development in the ever-evolving landscape of autonomous racing. New Teams and Exciting Partnership The IAC has also welcomed two new university teams: Indiana University and California Institute of Technology , bringing the total number of IAC teams to ten. These new additions further elevate the competition, expanding the IAC’s global pool of talent and expertise that are working on a common AI and robotics platform to accelerate the future of high-speed autonomy The IAC’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI extends beyond racing, through a strategic collaboration with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) which selected IAC as an official test and evaluation platform to be used in improving AI training for autonomous systems. This work is part of a new DARPA program, Transfer Learning from Imprecise and Abstract Models to Autonomous Technologies (TIAMAT) which aims to address the “simulation to real” gap in AI training. “The Indy Autonomous Challenge is truly leading the charge in the physical AI revolution,” said Paul Mitchell, President of the Indy Autonomous Challenge. “By pushing the limits of autonomous technology on the racetrack, we’re not just developing AI that can drive racecars—we’re creating systems that can be applied to everything from aviation to autonomous vehicles and robotics. The race at CES will be a showcase of cutting-edge innovation, and it’s also a great example of what can be achieved when government, academia, and industry come together to tackle some of the biggest tech challenges of our time.” IAC at CES 2025: A Hub for Innovation As a leader in the physical AI revolution , the IAC will take center stage at CES 2025 , the world’s largest innovation event. The IAC will have a prominent display in the West Hall lobby, showcasing the IAC-AV-24 world’s fastest autonomous racecar, along with a series of CES Conference Sessions exploring the future of AI in motorsport and beyond. Sessions include: These sessions will provide key insights into the future of physical AI and its potential to revolutionize mobility while increasing sustainability and quality of life. Race Day and VIP Experience at CES The Indy Autonomous Challenge race day at CES 2025 will be held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, setting the stage for a thrilling exhibition of innovation, speed, and AI advancement. Taking place on January 9 from 2-4 PM PST , this exciting autonomous race event will include three competitions: Time Trials, Passing Competition, and Multicar Race Exhibition. Ample parking will be available at the venue, and rideshare drop-offs are encouraged for added convenience. This year’s official IAC at CES Media Briefing will take place at the Media Center of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on January 9, 2025, at 1:15 PM , right before race activities begin. Reporters will receive the latest updates, learn about the innovations on the track, and have the opportunity for an open Q&A with IAC leadership and team leads. Media Registration: To attend any IAC track events as media, including tier 1, 2 and 3 exhibitions and/or to attend the media briefing, please register here . Media Contact & Resources: To request an interview with IAC stakeholders or to plan media tours at the track and/or booth, please contact IAC@OneMoreVolley.com . High-resolution images and additional information about the Indy Autonomous Challenge are available on the IAC Media Page . About the IAC: The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) is a non-profit organization based in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA) that organizes racing competitions among university-affiliated teams from around the world. Teams program AI drivers to pilot fully autonomous racecars and compete in a series of history-making events at iconic tracks. The IAC is working to establish a hub for performance automation in the state and is harnessing the power of innovative competitions to attract the best and the brightest minds from around the globe to further state-of-the-art technology in the safety and performance of autonomous vehicles. The IAC started as a $1 million prize competition with 31 university teams signing up to compete more than four years ago, representing top engineering and technology programs from 15 U.S. states and 11 countries. Follow the IAC on LinkedIn , Twitter , Instagram , Facebook , & YouTube . View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241219471601/en/ IAC@OneMoreVolley.com KEYWORD: INDIANA NEVADA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MOTOR SPORTS INTERIOR DESIGN OTHER ENTERTAINMENT CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY DATA ANALYTICS NANOTECHNOLOGY AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING SOFTWARE NETWORKS MANUFACTURING VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY SPORTS HARDWARE ENTERTAINMENT ELECTRONIC DESIGN AUTOMATION DATA MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE & SPECIAL INTEREST TECHNOLOGY AUTOMOTIVE AUTONOMOUS DRIVING/VEHICLES GENERAL AUTOMOTIVE UNIVERSITY SOURCE: The Indy Autonomous Challenge Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/19/2024 03:44 PM/DISC: 12/19/2024 03:45 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241219471601/en
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $200 million in humanitarian aid for conflict-torn Sudan during what was likely his final trip to the United Nations while in office. With the U.N. Security Council more divided than ever, Blinken led two meetings of the U.N.’s most powerful body on Thursday, capping his engagements with the world body after a tumultuous four years that saw war return to Europe and multiple crises in the Middle East. But neither focused on Russia’s war with Ukraine or the Mideast, where the U.S. has been frequently at odds with permanent members China and Russia and almost always in the minority when it comes to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Instead, in an apparent bid to produce a modicum of consensus, Blinken led Security Council sessions on artificial intelligence and Sudan , where conflict has sparked a dire humanitarian crisis that aid agencies say has not received enough attention. The money announced by Blinken will go toward food, shelter and health care for the people of Sudan. He also said the State Department will work with Congress to provide an additional $30 million to elevate civilian voices to help with the transition back to democratic governance. Here’s a look at America's top diplomat at the U.N.: Blinken has been appearing in person and virtually before the Security Council since March 2021, just after assuming his position as the Biden administration’s top diplomat. In addition to several one-off council meetings, including one in February 2022 shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine, Blinken has gone to New York for a week every September for the annual General Assembly gathering of world leaders. The presidency of the Security Council rotates alphabetically every month among its 15 members. This month, it's the U.S. turn. The country holding the presidency almost always organizes several signature events on topics its government chooses. Presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers often preside at these meetings, which ministers from other council nations are invited to attend. Russia and China have blocked all council action condemning the invasion of Ukraine. This has led U.S. officials to believe that a session on the topic, especially as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office with a stated goal of ending the war immediately, would likely be a waste of time. On the Middle East, the U.S. has frequently vetoed council action condemning Israel for its tactics against Hamas in Gaza, leaving it virtually alone at the United Nations in supporting Israel. War broke out in Sudan last year between rival generals heading the military and paramilitary forces. The fighting has left tens of thousands dead, forced millions from their homes and pushed a large swath of Sudan’s population to starvation — creating an often forgotten global crisis the U.S. is seeking to spotlight. The roughly $230 million in assistance announced Thursday brings total U.S. support to over $2.3 billion since the fighting erupted. Blinken said the fighting unleashed the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and every day “brings new atrocities, attacks on hospitals, on markets, displaced persons, camps, summary executions, women and girls subjected to unspeakable sexual violence.” “We continue to see war crimes and crimes against humanity committed across vast parts of Sudan,” he said. The U.S. leads the world in developing AI technology, according to a recently released Stanford University index, and it has been in the forefront of U.N. action on AI. In March, the first U.N. resolution on artificial intelligence was adopted by the 193-member General Assembly. Sponsored by the U.S., it gives global support to an international effort to ensure the powerful technology benefits all nations, respects human rights and is “safe, secure and trustworthy.” Blinken said AI has the potential to do “tremendous good” but can also pose “tremendous threats to the international peace and security that this council is charged with upholding.” He noted that “repressive regimes are using AI-enabled surveillance to target journalists and political dissidents" and that "if algorithms are built into weapon systems, and if they malfunction, they could spark a conflict.” “By setting rules of the road for AI we can minimize these risks, we can harness the exceptional promise of this technology,” he said. Blinken has represented the U.S. at the Security Council about half a dozen times at meetings ranging from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the war in Gaza. Russia, like the U.S. and China, is a permanent veto-holding member of the 15-nation council, and both have seats at its horseshoe-shaped table. But apart from pointed disagreements during debates, there have been no confrontations or one-on-one meetings between Blinken and Russian diplomats at previous U.N. meetings — and there was none on Thursday. Blinken thanked Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia after his remarks — as is custom — even though Nebenzia accused the U.S. of imposing rules on others but not abiding by them. But the Russian envoy agreed that “we cannot allow AI to dominate human beings and human values.” It is not unusual for Blinken or other senior U.S. officials to attend international meetings and conferences where Russian officials are present, but interactions are rare. Lee reported from Washington.
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KYIV, Ukraine — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile. escalating the nearly 33-month-old war. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.” Ukraine’s parliament canceled a session as security was tightened following Thursday’s Russian strike on a military facility in the city of Dnipro. In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was in retaliation for Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks Friday during a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense, representatives of the military-industrial complex and developers of missile systems at the Kremlin in Moscow. Putin said Western air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile. Ukrainian military officials said the missile that hit Dnipro reached a speed of Mach 11 and carried six nonnuclear warheads, each releasing six submunitions. Speaking Friday to military and weapons industries officials, Putin said Russia will launch production of the Oreshnik. “No one in the world has such weapons,” he said. “Sooner or later, other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development. “We have this system now,” he added. “And this is important.” Putin said that while it isn’t an intercontinental missile, it’s so powerful that the use of several of them fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with strategic — or nuclear — weapons. Gen. Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, echoing Putin’s claim that even with conventional warheads, “the massive use of the weapon would be comparable in effect to the use of nuclear weapons.” In this photo taken from a video released Friday, a Russian serviceman operates at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept up Russia's bellicose tone on Friday, blaming “the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries” in supplying weapons to Ukraine to strike Russia. "The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined," he said. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Moscow’s talking points, suggesting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement. “These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world’s most advanced technology and satellite communications capability,” Orbán said on state radio. “There is a strong assumption ... that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel.” Orbán cautioned against underestimating Russia’s responses, emphasizing that the country’s recent modifications to its nuclear deployment doctrine should not be dismissed as a “bluff.” “It’s not a trick ... there will be consequences,” he said. Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky speaks to journalists Friday during a joint news conference with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriiy Sybiha in Kyiv, Ukraine. Separately in Kyiv, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called Thursday’s missile strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe.” At a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Lipavský also expressed his full support for delivering the necessary additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks.” He said the Czech Republic will impose no limits on the use of its weapons and equipment given to Ukraine. Three lawmakers from Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, confirmed that Friday's previously scheduled session was called off due to the ongoing threat of Russian missiles targeting government buildings in central Kyiv. In addition, there also was a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and nongovernmental organizations "in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who said it's not the first time such a threat has been received. Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said the Oreshnik missile was fired from the Kapustin Yar 4th Missile Test Range in Russia’s Astrakhan region and flew 15 minutes before striking Dnipro. Test launches of a similar missile were conducted in October 2023 and June 2024, the directorate said. The Pentagon confirmed the missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile. Thursday's attack struck the Pivdenmash plant that built ICBMs when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The military facility is located about 4 miles southwest of the center of Dnipro, a city of about 1 million that is Ukraine’s fourth-largest and a key hub for military supplies and humanitarian aid, and is home to one of the country’s largest hospitals for treating wounded soldiers from the front before their transfer to Kyiv or abroad. We're all going to die someday. Still, how it happens—and when—can point to a historical moment defined by the scientific advancements and public health programs available at the time to contain disease and prevent accidents. In the early 1900s, America's efforts to improve sanitation, hygiene, and routine vaccinations were still in their infancy. Maternal and infant mortality rates were high, as were contagious diseases that spread between people and animals. Combined with the devastation of two World Wars—and the Spanish Flu pandemic in between—the leading causes of death changed significantly after this period. So, too, did the way we diagnose and control the spread of disease. Starting with reforms as part of Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s, massive-scale, federal interventions in the U.S. eventually helped stave off disease transmission. It took comprehensive government programs and the establishment of state and local health agencies to educate the public on preventing disease transmission. Seemingly simple behavioral shifts, such as handwashing, were critical in thwarting the spread of germs, much like discoveries in medicine, such as vaccines, and increased access to deliver them across geographies. Over the course of the 20th century, life expectancy increased by 56% and is estimated to keep increasing slightly, according to an annual summary of vital statistics published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2000. Death Records examined data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to see how the leading causes of death in America have evolved over time and to pinpoint how some major mortality trends have dropped off. According to a report published in the journal Annual Review of Public Health in 2000, pneumonia was the leading cause of death in the early 1900s, accounting for nearly 1 in 4 deaths. By the time World War I ended in 1918, during which people and animals were housed together for long periods, a new virus emerged: the Spanish Flu. Originating in a bird before spreading to humans, the virus killed 10 times as many Americans as the war. Many died of secondary pneumonia after the initial infection. Pneumonia deaths eventually plummeted throughout the century, partly prevented by increased flu vaccine uptake rates in high-risk groups, particularly older people. Per the CDC, tuberculosis was a close second leading cause of death, killing 194 of every 10,000 people in 1900, mainly concentrated in dense urban areas where the infection could more easily spread. Eventually, public health interventions led to drastic declines in mortality from the disease, such as public education, reducing crowded housing, quarantining people with active disease, improving hygiene, and using antibiotics. Once the death rates lagged, so did the public health infrastructure built to control the disease, leading to a resurgence in the mid-1980s. Diarrhea was the third leading cause of death in 1900, surging every summer among children before the impacts of the pathogen died out in 1930. Adopting water filtration, better nutrition, and improved refrigeration were all associated with its decline. In the 1940s and 1950s, polio outbreaks killed or paralyzed upward of half a million people worldwide every year. Even at its peak, polio wasn't a leading cause of death, it was a much-feared one, particularly among parents of young children, some of whom kept them from crowded public places and interacting with other children. By 1955, when Jonah Salk discovered the polio vaccine, the U.S. had ended the "golden age of medicine." During this period, the causes of mortality shifted dramatically as scientists worldwide began to collaborate on infectious disease control, surgical techniques, vaccines, and other drugs. From the 1950s onward, once quick-spreading deadly contagions weren't prematurely killing American residents en masse, scientists also began to understand better how to diagnose and treat these diseases. As a result, Americans were living longer lives and instead succumbing to noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs. The risk of chronic diseases increased with age and, in some cases, was exacerbated by unhealthy lifestyles. Cancer and heart disease shot up across the century, increasing 90-fold from 1900 to 1998, according to CDC data. Following the post-Spanish Flu years, heart disease killed more Americans than any other cause, peaking in the 1960s and contributing to 1 in 3 deaths. Cigarette smoking rates peaked at the same time, a major risk factor for heart disease. Obesity rates also rose, creating another risk factor for heart disease and many types of cancers. This coincides with the introduction of ultra-processed foods into diets, which plays a more significant role in larger waistlines than the increasing predominance of sedentary work and lifestyles. In the early 1970s, deaths from heart disease began to fall as more Americans prevented and managed their risk factors, like quitting smoking or taking blood pressure medicine. However, the disease remains the biggest killer of Americans. Cancer remains the second leading cause of death and rates still indicate an upward trajectory over time. Only a few types of cancer are detected early by screening, and some treatments for aggressive cancers like glioblastoma—the most common type of brain cancer—have also stalled, unable to improve prognosis much over time. In recent years, early-onset cancers, those diagnosed before age 50 or sometimes even earlier, have seen a drastic rise among younger Americans. While highly processed foods and sedentary lifestyles may contribute to rising rates, a spike in cancer rates among otherwise healthy young individuals has baffled some medical professionals. This follows the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020. At its peak, high transmission rates made the virus the third leading cause of death in America. It's often compared to the Spanish Flu of 1918, though COVID-19 had a far larger global impact, spurring international collaborations among scientists who developed a vaccine in an unprecedented time. Public policy around issues of safety and access also influences causes of death, particularly—and tragically—among young Americans. Gun control measures in the U.S. are far less stringent than in peer nations; compared to other nations, however, the U.S. leads in gun violence. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens (around 2 in 3 are homicides, and 1 in 3 are suicides), and deaths from opioids remain a leading cause of death among younger people. Globally, the leading causes of death mirror differences in social and geographic factors. NCDs are primarily associated with socio-economic status and comprise 7 out of 10 leading causes of death, 85% of those occurring in low- and middle-income countries, according to the World Health Organization. However, one of the best health measures is life expectancy at birth. People in the U.S. have been living longer lives since 2000, except for a slight dip in longevity due to COVID-19. According to the most recent CDC estimates, Americans' life expectancy is 77.5 years on average and is expected to increase slightly in the coming decades. Story editing by Alizah Salario. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Lacy Kerrick. This story originally appeared on Death Records and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Get local news delivered to your inbox!Players Era Festival organizers betting big NIL is future of college tourneysReniya Kelly scores 18 and No. 16 North Carolina women beat 14th-ranked Kentucky 72-53
Microsoft is positioning its contentious Recall feature for Windows 11 as a headline capability for Copilot+ laptops. So it’s kind of weird that when the previously delayed tool went live, it only did so for x64-based machines and not Arm-based Snapdragon laptops that made such a splash earlier this year. Well, if you have one of those, you can now try Recall via the Windows Insider program. Microsoft that Recall, which records pretty much everything you do on Windows, is now available to Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs. You’ll need to get on the Insider Program (a fancy title for a beta) and join the Dev Channel if you want to see what all the hubbub is about. Fortunately, it’s easy enough to get back off when the updates reach stable (or you just don’t want to be on that channel anymore). Recall has had a rocky road since its announcement as one of Microsoft’s most dramatic new AI-powered tools. After being the focus of for its privacy and security implications, Microsoft and assured regular users that they could turn off its access to certain programs. Microsoft also made the decision to — if you want it on a compatible work PC, you’ll need to clear it with your IT manager before manually opting in and turning it on. At this point, it seems exceedingly unlikely that Recall will make it into the general release channel for Windows 11 before 2025. And even then, only a fraction of the market will have the ability to try it out since it’s only available on Copilot+ PCs from this year or newer. Which, by the way, Microsoft wants you to buy into — so much so that it’s pushing . Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.
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AUM of USD 635 Billion at ADFW Caps Stellar Q4 as Trillion-Dollar Club Flock to ADGMElon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy start ‘brainstorming’ with Congress to cut government spending
Theon International PLC (THEON) announces that the German Parliament’s Defence and Budget Committees yesterday approved a new extension of the OCCAR contract, with the exercise of the 3rd consecutive option, with an additional option of similar size remaining available. The consortium of HENSOLDT Optronics GmbH and THEON SENSORS SA has been invited by OCCAR to sign this amendment on 20 December 2024 in Bonn, Germany. The original contract for the Production and Support of Bifocal Night Vision Systems (BNVG) with the international organization OCCAR was signed in July 2021. To date, 49,550 Mikron BNVGs ( with Exosens 16 mm tubes ) have already been contracted for delivery to the German and Belgian Armed Forces. Under the new amendment, the Consortium will continue with additional deliveries to Germany of several thousand Mikron bifocal night vision systems from THEON. Christian Hatziminas, Founder and CEO of THEON , said: “The extension of the OCCAR contract, which is taking place earlier than expected, confirms the successful collaboration between the companies involved in this project and underlines the vital importance of night vision for military forces. In addition, we are seeing consistently high demand globally as military forces have recognised the criticality of the need to enhance their operational capabilities during both day and night. As a result, access to tube acquisition is paramount. Indeed, this justifies (a) the acquisition of the Harder Digital group, which took place earlier this year with an investment that increases tube stock, and (b) the initiation of long-term commercial agreements with tube suppliers, notably Exosens. By extension, THEON has taken steps to further increase tube orders from Exosens for 2026 and beyond as part of the long-term commercial agreement between us for the years 2025-2027. The receipt of new orders is expected to continue into the new year.” Explore related questionsHouse rejects Democratic efforts to force release of Matt Gaetz ethics report
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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes rose to more records Wednesday after tech companies talked up how much of a boost they’re getting from the artificial-intelligence boom. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to add to what’s set to be one of its best years of the millennium. It’s the 56th time the index has hit an all-time high this year after climbing in 11 of the last 12 days . The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 308 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite added 1.3% to its own record. Salesforce helped pull the market higher after delivering stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit fell just short. CEO Mark Benioff highlighted the company’s artificial-intelligence offering for customers, saying “the rise of autonomous AI agents is revolutionizing global labor, reshaping how industries operate and scale.” The stock price of the company, which helps businesses manage their customers, jumped 11%. Marvell Technology leaped even more after delivering better results than expected, up 23.2%. CEO Matt Murphy said the semiconductor supplier is seeing strong demand from AI and gave a forecast for profit in the upcoming quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. All the optimistic talk helped Nvidia , the company whose chips are powering much of the move into AI, rally 3.5%. It was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500 by far. They helped offset an 8.9% drop for Foot Locker, which reported profit and revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations. CEO Mary Dillon said the company is taking a more cautious view, and it cut its forecasts for sales and profit this year. Dillon pointed to how keen customers are for discounts and how soft demand has been outside of Thanksgiving week and other key selling periods. Retailers overall have offered mixed signals about how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain. Their spending has been one of the main reasons the U.S. economy has avoided a recession that earlier seemed inevitable after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to crush inflation. But shoppers are now contending with still-high prices and a slowing job market . This week’s highlight for Wall Street will be Friday’s jobs report from the U.S. government, which will show how many people employers hired and fired last month. A narrower report released Wednesday morning suggested employers in the private sector increased their payrolls by less last month than economists expected. Hiring in manufacturing was the weakest since the spring, according to Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. The report strengthened traders’ expectations that the Fed will cut its main interest rate again when it meets in two weeks. The Fed began easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high in September, hoping to offer more support for the job market. The central bank had appeared set to continue cutting rates into next year, but the election of Donald Trump has scrambled Wall Street’s expectations somewhat. Trump’s preference for higher tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , which could alter the Fed’s plans . Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the central bank can afford to cut rates cautiously because inflation has slowed from its peak two years ago and the economy remains sturdy. A separate report on Wednesday said health care, finance and other businesses in the U.S. services sector are continuing to grow, but not by as much as before and not by as much as economists expected. One respondent from the construction industry told the survey from the Institute for Supply Management that the Fed’s rate cuts haven't pulled down mortgage rates as much as hoped. Plus, “the unknown effect of tariffs clouds the future.” In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.18% from 4.23% late Tuesday. On Wall Street, Campbell’s sank 6.2% for one of the S&P 500’s sharper losses despite increasing its dividend and reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. Its revenue fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, and the National Football League’s Washington Commanders hired Campbell’s CEO Mark Clouse as its team president. Gains for airline stocks helped offset that drop after JetBlue Airways said it saw stronger bookings for travel in November and December following the presidential election. It also said it’s benefiting from lower fuel prices, as well as lower costs due to improved on-time performance. JetBlue jumped 8.3%, while Southwest Airlines climbed 3.5%. All told, the S&P 500 rose 36.61 points to 6,086.49. The Dow climbed 308.51 to 45,014.04, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 254.21 to 19,735.12. In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.4% following a night full of drama in Seoul. President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing possible impeachment after he suddenly declared martial law on Tuesday night, prompting troops to surround the parliament. He revoked the martial law declaration six hours later. In the crypto market , bitcoin climbed near $99,000 after Trump said he would nominate Paul Atkins , a cryptocurrency advocate, to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
