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NAUGATUCK — Tug Valley will be playing in the state football semifinals for just the second time ever as the No. 1 seed Panthers beat No. 8 Petersburg 49-20 in a Class A quarterfinal game on Saturday evening at Bob Brewer Stadium. The win for the Panthers improved them to a school record 12-0 on the season and they will get to remain home next week as they will welcome No. 4 seed Cameron (11-1) to Naugatuck with a berth in the state title game on the line. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Uruguay's voters choose their next president in a close runoff with low stakes but much suspense
Up to 80,000 dollars for circular economy initiatives of MSMEs and other actors in HavanaMONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguayans on Sunday voted in the second round of the country's presidential election , with the conservative governing party and a left-leaning coalition locked in a close runoff following level-headed campaigns widely seen as emblematic of the country's strong democracy. As polls closed Sunday evening, turnout stood at 89.4% — around the same as during the first round last month in which the two moderate coalitions both failed to win an outright majority. Voting in Uruguay is compulsory. Depending on how tight the vote turns out to be, electoral officials may not call the race for days — as happened in the contentious 2019 runoff that brought center-right President Luis Lacalle Pou to office and ended 15 years of rule by Uruguay’s left-leaning Broad Front by a razor-thin margin. Álvaro Delgado, the incumbent party’s candidate who won nearly 27% in the first round of voting on Oct. 27, has campaigned under the slogan “re-elect a good government." Other conservative parties that make up the government coalition — in particular, the Colorado Party that came in third place last month — notched 20% of the vote collectively, enough to give Delgado an edge over his challenger. Yamandú Orsi from the Broad Front, who took 44% of the vote in the general election, is promising to forge a “new left” in Uruguay that draws on the memory of stability and economic growth under his Broad Front coalition, which presided over pioneering social reforms that won widespread international acclaim from 2005-2020, including the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and sale of marijuana . With inflation easing and the economy expected to expand by some 3.2% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, surveys show that Uruguayans remain largely satisfied with the administration of Lacalle Pou, who constitutionally cannot run for a second consecutive term. But persistent complaints about sluggish growth, stagnant wages and an upsurge in violent crime could just as easily add the small South American nation to a long list of places this year where frustrated voters have punished incumbents in elections around the world. With most polls showing a virtual tie between Delgado and Orsi, analysts say the vote may hinge on a small group of undecided voters — roughly 10% of registered voters in the nation of 3.4 million people. “Neither candidate convinced me and I feel that there are many in my same situation,” said Vanesa Gelezoglo, 31, in the capital, Montevideo, adding she would make up her mind at “the last minute.” Analysts say the candidates’ lackluster campaigns and broad consensus on key issues have generated extraordinary indecision and apathy in an election dominated by discussions about social spending and concerns over income inequality but largely free of the anti-establishment rage that has vaulted populist outsiders to power in neighboring Argentina and the United States. “The question of whether Frente Amplio (the Broad Front) raises taxes is not an existential question, unlike what we saw in the U.S. with Trump and Kamala framing each other as threats to democracy," said Nicolás Saldías, a Latin America and Caribbean senior analyst for the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. “That doesn't exist in Uruguay.” Both candidates are also appealing to voter angst over the current government's struggle to stem the rise in violent crime that has shaken a nation long regarded as one of the region’s safest, with Delgado promising tough-on-crime policies and Orsi advocating a more community-oriented approach. Delgado, 55, a rural veterinarian with a long career in the National Party, served most recently as Secretary of the Presidency for Lacalle Pou and promises to pursue his predecessor’s pro-business policies. He would continue pushing for a trade deal with China that has raised hackles in Mercosur, an alliance of South American countries promoting regional commerce. "We have to give the government coalition a chance to consolidate its proposals,” said Ramiro Pérez, a street vendor voting for Delgado on Sunday. Orsi, 57, a former history teacher and two-time mayor from a working-class background, is widely seen as the political heir to former President José “Pepe” Mujica , an ex-Marxist guerilla who became a global icon for helping transform Uruguay into one of the region's most socially liberal and environmentally sustainable nations. “He's my candidate, not only for my sake but also for my children's,” Yeny Varone, a nurse at a polling station, said of Orsi. “In the future they'll have better working conditions, health and salaries.” Mujica, now 89 and recovering from esophageal cancer , turned up at his local polling station before balloting even began, praising Orsi's humility and Uruguay’s famous stability. “This is no small feat,” he said of Uruguay's “citizenry that respects formal institutions.” Orsi planned no dramatic changes, and, despite his call for a revitalized left-wing, his platform continues the Broad Front's traditional mix of market-friendly policies and welfare programs. He proposes tax incentives to lure investment and social security reforms that would lower the retirement age but fall short of a radical overhaul sought by Uruguay's unions. The contentious plebiscite on whether to boost pension payouts failed to pass in October, with Uruguayans rejecting generous pensions in favor of fiscal constraint. Both candidates pledged full cooperation with each other if elected. “I want (Orsi) to know that my idea is to form a government of national unity,” Delgado told reporters after casting his vote in the capital's upscale Pocitos neighborhood. He said that if he won, he and Orsi would chat on Monday over some yerba mate, the traditional herbal drink beloved by Uruguayans. Orsi described Sunday's democratic exercise as “an incredible experience" as he voted in Canelones, the sprawling town of beaches and cattle ranches just north of Montevideo where he served as mayor for a decade. “The essence of politics is agreements,” he said. “You never end up completely satisfied.” Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Villa Tunari, Bolivia, contributed to this report.
I have always thought of elections as messy stories: big, sprawling narratives with plots and subplots and thousands of characters, told in bits and pieces by narrators far from omniscient — never unified, scattered across media platforms, history books, and the vagaries of memory. Journalists piece together such stories. With visuals, out in the field, in newsrooms, and in broadcast studios. Their storytelling often borrows from fiction to add depth and nuance. But today, journalism stands on the brink of something stranger... something perilous but also potentially richer: the creative possibilities offered by AI. What do I mean by that? AI is no longer merely a tool for automation. It is emerging as a canvas for journalistic creativity, offering ways to tell stories we hadn’t quite imagined. What if journalism could wear a digital face? Or sing? These are no longer fanciful questions. During the recent US election, I worked with a team of young multimedia journalists at Bournemouth University exploring how AI might enhance storytelling. We called it Project L. We tested digital avatars — animated versions of real experts delivering sharp, engaging election commentary that felt at home on social media. We used AI-generated music to report on the tension in the swing states and the resumption of polling after bomb scares in Georgia and Michigan. Trump’s victory speech and Kamala Harris’s concession? We turned those into animated music videos, blending verse and visuals. (See an overview of Project L here.) This is where you might be wondering: why? Why go to such lengths? These experiments weren’t about jumping onto the grand bandwagon of gimmicks that accompany every disruptive technology. Nor were they about producing more content. Project L was about creating different content — stories designed to resonate, connect, and reach audiences in ways traditional formats may not. While much of the conversation around AI focuses on automating news production to cut costs, we wanted to explore how this disruption could reimagine storytelling itself. AI doesn’t just change how stories are told; it redefines what they can be. But there’s a catch. Isn’t there always? Every technological disruption brings opportunities and challenges. With AI, the most immediate concern is job displacement — automation that replaces, rather than enhances, human storytellers. Take the AI avatars we experimented with. In theory, their use democratises production: no studio, no expensive equipment. Just a good script and a laptop. A small team can create quality visual content, in multiple languages, at a fraction of the cost. But this efficiency carries a risk: content fatigue. There’s only so much of content a viewer, an audience segment, can consume—a threshold that AI provides us the capability to surpass all too easily. But just because we can produce more content doesn’t mean we should. The real challenge lies in using AI to create meaningful, resonant stories—not adding to the noise. So, how do we ensure AI enhances storytelling in journalism rather than diluting it? The answer lies in purpose, the why of our journalistic content. AI shouldn’t be a replacement for human creativity; it should be a tool for enhancement. By taking over repetitive tasks, it frees journalists to focus on imagination, nuance, and connection—the things machines cannot quite replicate. This liberation allows us to ask: what stories could we tell if we weren’t bound by traditional formats and constraints? How might we leverage avatars, music, or interactive narratives, or investigative opportunities, or personalisation possibilities to connect with audiences in ways we’ve never tried before? That’s the potential AI offers. Used responsibly, guided by ethics and a sense of purpose, it can be a powerful tool to enhance creativity. Journalism has never been just about delivering information. It’s about forging connections: telling stories that challenge us, inspire us, and remind us of our shared humanity. The question isn’t whether AI can help us tell stories—it most certainly can—but whether we use it to tell the ones that truly matter, in ways that remain unmistakably, defiantly human. (Chindu Sreedharan is the Professor of Journalism and Innovation, and the course director of MA Multimedia Journalism at Bournemouth University, U.K.) Published - December 15, 2024 02:37 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp RedditTrump lawyers ask NYC judge to toss Stormy Daniels hush money caseSensex, Nifty Next Week: Are Bulls Back? Why Did Market Rise Despite FII Outflow?
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From Stress to Spark: My Spicy Vanilla Offers Fresh Ways to ReconnectEarlier this year, PYMNTS Intelligence found that only a minority of workers surveyed — at 20% — said that it was “very or extremely” likely that they’d switch jobs in the next year. At the same time, we noted that 83% of consumers eyed 2024 with concerns about the economy. Only 38% of consumers said they’d expected a real increase in their wages. As 2024 moves toward the history books, there are some indications that sentiment may lift, where a more sanguine outlook about employment spurs a more upbeat outlook about other factors of life — including, perhaps, spending. There are some indications in the latest round of jobs-related data — through what’s known as the JOLT report (short for Job Openings and Labor Turnover) — that workers are ready to make the leap, and many are already doing so, as job openings outpace hiring. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday (Dec. 3) that available jobs increased, as measured in October, while hiring slowed. Wall Street may be gaming the chances of another Federal Reserve cut to interest rates this month (as the headline numbers suggest a slowing labor market). Two data points stand out here: Workers are quitting at a relatively heady pace, which speaks a bit to the confidence, and layoffs are trending lower; the separation of workers from jobs is voluntary. By the numbers, job openings totaled 7.74 million on the month , up 372,000 from September. Consensus forecasts had been that openings would stand at 7.5 million. Openings as a share of the labor force rose to 4.6% from 4.4%. During a month wracked with hurricanes and labor strikes, total hires of 5.3 million were down by 269,000 roles month over month. Though the October data represent boost in job openings, we’re well below last year’s level, by 11%, seen in October of last year. Where the Jobs Are The professional and business services sector stood out with the largest increase in job openings, adding 209,000 positions in October, while information followed with 87,000 additional openings. Leisure and hospitality also demonstrated strength, particularly in accommodation and food services, which saw a 6.7% job opening rate, the highest among all industries. Small businesses continue to drive the labor market, accounting for 80% of October’s job openings. These establishments, however, also led in separations, laying off nearly 1.2 million employees, representing 76% of all separations. But we note that small businesses made significant progress, reducing layoffs by 56% compared to October 2023, which gives the nod to some stabilization on Main Street. In October, 3.4 million individuals quit their jobs, bouncing from a low in September not seen in four years. Connecting the dots, there are a few glimmers of what might lie ahead. Last week, we reported that consumer confidence ticked up in November, where the Conference Board reported that one-third of respondents said jobs were plentiful, down from the 34.1% seen in October. At the same time, the percentage of respondents saying jobs were “hard to get” fell too, to 15.2 from 17.6%. If individuals and households are eyeing a career switch, it may be to get some additional padding in their wallets — in terms of spendable wages, which comes with higher income. PYMNTS reported in the wake of the most recent GDP report that disposable income growth has been pressured, with current-dollar disposable personal income up only 2.3%, and adjusted real growth at 0.8%. Personal saving was $934.4 billion in the third quarter, “a downward revision in change of $34 billion from the previous estimate,” per the data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The personal saving rate — personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income — was 4.3% in the third quarter, a downward revision of 0.5%.Here are the billionaires stocking Trump’s next administration
One story I never tire of telling is how Channel 6 assured Philadelphia would have a Thanksgiving Day Parade, even as retailers who originally sponsored it faded from the local scene. I mention Channel 6’s place in Philadelphia Thanksgiving history annually because it marks one of the all-time greatest rescues of a local tradition by a local media giant. Thursday, that tradition continues as “The 6 ABC Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade,” begins its 105th annual march — 39th under Channel 6’s aegis — at 8:30 p.m. featuring its usual assortment of balloons, marching bands, celebrity performances and floats. Dunkin’, as in Dunkin’ Donuts, has been Channel 6’s primary partner for 14 years. Channel 6 news folk Rick Williams, Cecily Tynan, Adam Joseph, Karen Rogers and Alicia Vitarelli will serves as hosts of event: Williams and Tynan from the main Benjamin Franklin Parkway broadcasting booth, the others from the parade route which starts about 16th and the Parkway and leads to the Art Museum. Headlined guests include “Abbott Elementary’s “ Lisa Ann Walter, “Wheel of Fortune’s” Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White, “Live!’s” Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, ubiquitous TV host and panelist Carson Kressley, and “Good Morning America” weather anchor Sam Champion. Pop music acts appearing at the parade include my lifelong favorite Darlene Love, Matteo Boccelli, The Sugarhill Gang, Kathy Sledge, The Sharpe Family Singers, CeCe Peniston, The Funky Bunch, Wé Ani, and the former Ladies of Chic. Performers from Ensemble Arts Philly touring shows are featured as well as the Walnut Street Theatre’s current production of “Elf,” the Philadelphia Orchestra, just back from a tour of China, Eddie Bruce and the “No Name Pops,” and the Philadelphia Ballet, now doing their annual rendition of “The Nutcracker.” Of course, some creatures known as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Santa Claus make dramatic appearances. Until Al Blackstone was asked to choreograph a production of “Anastasia,” a full-fledged musical based on 1997 animated version, he didn’t realize how much dancing the show required. “I thought it needed a ballet scene and some period dances,” he said. “Once I began working on it, I realized everything in ‘Anastasia’ is a dance,” said Blackstone, who, at the time we spoke was heading to the final rehearsal of “Anastasia” at New Hope’s Bucks County Playhouse, where it will run through Sunday, Jan. 5. “There is so much music to work, and it’s by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, so you know it’s fabulous, but more than that, (director) Eric Rosen’s concept is the music of a memory, so dance serves to illustrate the moment and where the characters are. “It gives us liberty to invent as the show moves from Imperial Russia to Paris, to which the Russian nobility flees following the Revolution.” Russian sequences can range from folk dances to formal ballet. The Paris the refugees inhabit is one of class. Blackstone says his personal experience helped in conceiving the movement for both settings. He had worked on a production of “An American in Paris,” which though set in a later period, provided a sense of the sophisticated Parisian milieu. His grandfather had emigrated to New York from St. Petersburg, Russia, at the time of the Revolution. “I was aware of the different stations and scenarios in the characters’ lives,” Blackstone says. “There’s a lot of range because some of the emigrants are members of the aristocracy while others are from the working class. “There turns out to be so much to explore in this show, I’d like to do it a third time.” Asked whether it is more difficult to work with a vehicle that was originally an animated cartoon, Blackstone said it presents some challenges. “We ask ourselves how we deal with such a situation, dealing with what it is before us but finding an effective way to make to bring out the dramatic reality of a situation, the human reality of it.” Blackstone came to prominence as one of the choreographers on “So You Think You Can Dance,” for which he received two Emmy nominations and earned one 2020 Emmy. “So You Think You Can Dance” was all about dance. It wasn’t concerned with celebrity or the process that led to the performed dance. “The language of dance was the priority, so the show became a great place to exercise creativity,” Blackstone said. “An atmosphere was created in which anything seemed possible.” Blackstone knows a lot about performing. His parents owned a dance school near Point Pleasant, N.J. “They just closed it after 45 years. Besides all of the training, my mother would take us out of school on Wednesday afternoons, so we could go to Broadway and see all of the musicals. That, as much as anything, made me want to be involved with the theater. “I remember the first show I saw was “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamboat.’ It excited me so much, I wrote a letter to everyone in the cast. In time, I saw how dance is an integral part of storytelling.” Now in his 40s, Blackstone says dance and music remain a huge part of his life. “I don’t know how to do everything. I don’t want to do everything. I know who I am and what I’m programmed to do. And, of course, I’m still learning. “The music that interests me the most is the Great American Songbook, the wonderful songs by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and their contemporaries. Musicals are often composed with that style of music, which is why I enjoy working on them so much.” Being so used to whole series streaming at once, it is difficult to deal with waiting a full week for a new episode of a show. Peacock’s “The Day of the Jackal” is worth it. Eddie Redmayne plays a highly paid, highly talented professional assassin. Watching him set up the first kill of the series is engrossing as both actor and the situation are fraught with tension. The Jackal is the bad guy, but Redmayne’s charm and talent, and his character’s skill and poise make you root for him despite the international political mayhem he causes with each precise kill. The series is smart enough to let us see various aspects of The Jackal — as a family man, as a lover of nature — that enhance our like for him. Also, his main adversary, an MI 6 agent played by Lashana Lynch, is heavy-handed in her tactics and never becomes as likable as Redmayne, let alone becoming someone to root for. New episodes appear on Peacock every Thursday. You can binge-watch those that have aired already. Throughout the Eagles season, the post-game commentator I look most forward to hearing is former Eagle wide receiver Jason Avant, whether he’s conversing with Rob Ellis on WIP (94.1 FM) or Don Bell on Channel 3. Avant is candid and knowledgeable in a way that illuminates the game he’s s discussing, the plays he’s dissecting, and the players he’s praising or questioning. He brings a polished expert’s perspective to whatever he’s saying while being a sharp, observant, and fair critic of the game he, Ellis, or Bell is taking apart. That Rob Ellis and Don Bell, in their individual ways, rank among the best sportscasters in the market, is a head start to their success working with Avant. Ellis is always rational and, while stating opinions firmly, he listens to callers, explains his views calmly, and introduces ideas you haven’t heard all day on earlier programs. Bell is playful, the guy who applies a good-natured point of view to his reporting and is the life of the broadcasting party while remaining prepared and able to get down to business. Bell also has a worthy pre-game partner in Channel 3’s Pat Gallen, who seems nonchalant in approach but knows his topic thoroughly. Another who’s impressed recently is Channel 29 sportscaster Breland Moore. I enjoyed her take on the Eagles-Commanders game of Nov. 14. I also noticed that see chose as her “player to watch” in terms of being significant to the game at hand was a defender, Eagles safety Reed Blankenship, who came through with a timely interception of a Jayden Daniels pass.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Jakob Blakley's 28 points helped Le Moyne defeat SUNY Delhi 106-51 on Saturday. Blakley added five rebounds and three steals for the Dolphins (4-8). Robby Carmody went 5 of 7 from the field (4 for 6 from 3-point range) to add 14 points. Isaac Nyakundi shot 4 of 8 from the field and 3 for 6 from the line to finish with 11 points, while adding seven rebounds. The Broncos were led by Lester McCarthy, who recorded 16 points. Abdul-Jaleel Ibrahim added seven points. Isaiah Barnes had four points and three steals. Story continues below video The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Appeals court rules US can deport illegal immigrants despite local objections in win for incoming Trump adminElon Musk’s Many 'Avatars': Time-Traveling Vampire Alien, Irony Man, And More
The whiplash-inducing, “Hunger Games”-style race to become Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary made it easy for the media to ignore what has been going on with Janet Yellen — and the absolute mess she’s leaving for her successor. Yellen — who, it was revealed Friday, will be replaced as Treasury secretary in January by hedge fund mogul Scott Bessent — was Joe Biden’s pick to run the office that is essentially the country’s CFO. Indeed, it could be the most important cabinet position in the White House given the importance of the US economy. Americans put Trump in office largely over his handling of the economy during his first term — job growth and wages that kept place with a low inflation rate. Despite her gold-plated résumé, Ivy League degrees, and time served as Fed chair, Yellen gave the country just the opposite. Her boss paid the price politically as the American people paid the price economically. And according to my sources, the American people aren’t done paying the price for Yellen’s mismanagement even if most of the financial media is overlooking the fiscal time bomb she devised — one that could blow up once Trump takes office. Specifically, my sources who follow the bond market say Yellen has been setting a trap for the incoming Trump administration through the way she financed the massive $1.8 trillion federal budget deficit that exploded during the Biden years with the accumulation of $36 trillion in debt. Yellen has been moving away from long-term debt to finance the shortfalls to shorter-dated securities, essentially rolling over deficits with more and more Treasury bills instead of the normal way of debt issuance through 10- and 30-year debt. That’s according to an analysis by Robbert van Batenburg of the influential Bear Traps Report, who estimates that around 30% of all debt is the short-term variety — aka 2-year and shorter notes — compared to 15% in 2023. Didn’t lock in low rates In an era of low interest rates, Yellen & Co. could have locked in relatively cheap interest payments for years by issuing more 10- and 30-year debt. So why go there? Politics, according to Yellen’s Wall Street critics. Because the Biden administration has taken spending to new and some say unsustainable levels, Yellen needed to engage in a bit of financial chicanery to keep interest rates low and not spook the stock market during an election year, her critics say. If she had financed deficits with 10- and 30-year bonds, that would have caused a rise in interest rates that impact consumers, i.e. mortgages and credit cards. Yields on the 10-year bond have remained under 5%, a key level that has coincided with a run-up in stocks. If rates move to 5% and above, it would also probably cause a decline in the stock market because stocks would be competing with higher-yielding super-safe treasuries for investors’ money. She was playing with additional fire because rates on short-dated debt, while low, began to spike in recent years when the Fed raised its base rate to fight inflation. As van Batenburg puts it: “The Treasury now faces a substantial volume of short-term debt maturing annually, which must be refinanced at significantly higher interest rates. Current market rates for short-term debt, while slightly lower than recent peaks, remain elevated compared to historical levels. This mismatch between low-cost historical debt and high-cost replacement debt is driving a substantial increase in the government’s interest expense.” Scary stuff. Average Americans got screwed by inflation and then higher rates that made homeownership less affordable. Rich people luxuriated in gains from higher financial-asset prices. But yields on the 10-year have been inching up to that danger zone of 5%. It could set the stage for a stock market collapse or even worse if the bond market starts to factor in not just higher deficits given Biden’s spending spree, but also the need to issue more long-dated debt because short-term borrowing is more expensive. Thanks, Janet. Gensler’s SEC land mines Speaking of cleaning up messes, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler announced last week he doesn’t plan to stick around until his term ends in 2026. His replacement is still in question as this column goes to press, though sources say long-time securities lawyer and ex-SEC commissioner Paul Atkins has the inside track. While Wall Street’s top cop won’t face the same existential worries being faced by the new Treasury secretary, it won’t be a cakewalk, either. “Cleaning up after Gensler is like avoiding land mines left behind by the retreating Japanese soldiers,” an SEC insider told me. Gensler, during his three-plus years as Biden’s SEC chair, basically defied the agency’s congressional mandate. He turned what’s essentially an investor-protection agency into a climate-activist arm of the Biden administration by trying to impose costly and absurd disclosures on public companies about their carbon footprint, nearly impossible to accurately gauge. His enforcement arm became a de facto regulator of the $3.5 trillion crypto business; instead of setting clear rules for the industry, he brought cases, stifling innovation of all-important blockchain technology in the US and pushing it overseas. Staff morale is at an all-time low due to Gensler’s brusque management style. I can go on, but I don’t want to scare whoever’s taking Gary’s place. Originally published as US economy: Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen departs from office - as she leaves a trail of mess for her successorLatest bowl projections: Who benefits most from a wild weekend?