In politics, friendships are often superficial and only last as long as they have utility. Once they are no longer deemed beneficial, they can dissipate into the ether. That’s the transactional nature of the political world, but after spending many years working in politics, I can tell you not everyone falls into this vicious cycle. Former state Senator and Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson was different. Bruce was my friend, and he sadly passed away days before Thanksgiving after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He left behind a family and a host of friends who will forever remember him and his indelible imprint on the Peach State. If the measure of a man is his legacy, then Bruce has reason to be proud. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get news alerts and breaking news stories from the Albany Herald delivered to your email.What does Big Tech hope to gain from warming up to Trump?phl navy 。

Canadians took two of the top four spots on Spotify's list of most-streamed artists globally in 2024, while Taylor Swift dominated the charts in Canada and abroad. The streaming giant unveiled its annual Spotify Wrapped listening trends overview Wednesday, with Taylor Swift unsurprisingly coming in first place worldwide with more than 26.6 billion streams, and also topping Canada's list. Swift also earned the year's most-streamed album in Canada and globally, with The Tortured Poets Department , released in April. But Toronto's The Weeknd followed Swift as the No. 2 most-streamed artist around the world, while Drake came in at No. 4. Drake was Spotify's second most-streamed Canadian artist globally in 2024. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images) Puerto Rican reggaetón star Bad Bunny, who held the top spot for three years in a row before Swift dethroned him last year, took the No. 3 spot, and Billie Eilish came in at No. 5. Drake took the second spot among listeners in both Canada and the U.S., while The Weeknd fared lower in his home country than abroad, at No. 7. After those two artists, the top streamed Canadians worldwide were London, Ont.'s Justin Bieber, Calgary's Tate McRae and Pickering, Ont.'s Shawn Mendes, in that order — though none of them made the top 10. Shaboozey takes top song in Canada When it came to songs, Canadians fell in love with Shaboozey's country hit A Bar Song (Tipsy) , which took the No. 1 spot here, but was No. 3 in the U.S. and didn't reach the global Top 10. Sabrina Carpenter's summer pop jam Espresso was the No. 1 song in the U.S. and globally, and was No. 4 in Canada. Spotify Wrapped is a social media sensation. Its impact on artists and listeners is debatable Group Chat Does Spotify Wrapped make up for the platform's pitfalls? Swift also took the international top artist and album slots on Apple Music's Replay, while Apple's No. 1 track was Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us , a diss track aimed at Drake, released amid a drawn-out feud between the two rappers. On Spotify, which provided more detailed breakdowns, Not Like Us hit No. 2 in the U.S. but was No. 10 in Canada, and failed to crack the Top 10 globally. Drake has launched legal actions against Universal Music Group, accusing the music giant of defamation for the song, saying it falsely accuses him of being a sex offender. Drake is also alleging Spotify and UMG — the distributor for the record labels of both Drake and Lamar — conspired to falsely boost the song's popularity. Taylor Swift, pictured performing in Toronto last month, dominated Spotify's year-end charts in Canada and abroad. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Streaming now accounts for most of the money generated by the music industry — a whopping 84 per cent in the United States, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, and 67.3 per cent worldwide, according to a 2024 report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which tracks global sales. Spotify is the largest platform of all , making up roughly 31 per cent of the total market share, with a reported 626 million users and 246 million subscribers in more than 180 markets. The top 10 most streamed artists on Spotify in Canada: 1. Taylor Swift 2. Drake 3. Zach Bryan 4. Morgan Wallen 5. Travis Scott 6. Kanye West 7. The Weeknd 8. Future 9. Eminem 10. Post Malone The Top 10 most streamed songs on Spotify in Canada: 1. Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy) 2. Benson Boone - Beautiful Things 3. Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen - I Had Some Help 4. Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso 5. Noah Kahan - Stick Season 6. Teddy Swims - Lose Control 7. Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves - I Remember Everything 8. Hozier - Too Sweet 9. Billie Eilish - Birds of a Feather 10. Kendrick Lamar - Not Like UsAustralia's prime minister said Sunday he was ready to "engage" with billionaire X owner Elon Musk over his criticism of the government's ban on under-16s joining social media. Anthony Albanese hailed the parliament's Thursday passage of landmark legislation requiring social media firms to take "reasonable steps" to prevent young teens from having accounts. The law, which will come into effect after 12 months, gives few details of how it will be enforced, including how sites like Facebook, Instagram and X will verify users' ages. Musk -- who has been named Donald Trump's government efficiency chief in the incoming US administration -- posted on X last month that the law "seems like a backdoor way to control access to the Internet by all Australians". "We will talk to anyone," Albanese said when asked if he would discuss the legislation with Musk. "With regard to Elon Musk, he has an agenda. He's entitled to push that as the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter," Albanese told Australian public broadcaster ABC. When the interviewer mentioned that Musk was also Trump's "right-hand man", the prime minister replied: "We will engage, we will engage." Social media firms that fail to comply with the new law face fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32.5 million) for "systemic breaches". Musk's platform in October lost a legal bid to avoid a US$417,000 fine levelled by Australia's online watchdog, which has accused X of failing to stamp out harmful posts. The government will decide over the next 12 months how to implement the ban, Albanese said, insisting, however, that it would not require people to provide identification. "The obligation will be on social media companies to do everything they can to make sure that those people under 16 don't have access to social media," the prime minister said. "We know that social media companies have more information about you and I than some of our friends do," he added. "We know that they are able to do that, and the obligation will be on them." Albanese said he was "determined" to implement the legislation. "I've met parents who have had to bury their children as a result of the impact that social media has had as a result of bullying, and we need to do something about it," he said. Several social media giants have promised to work with the government on implementing the law. But they have also criticised the legislation, saying it was "rushed", full of unanswered questions, and did not take into account the views of experts who opposed it. The UN children's charity UNICEF Australia warned this week that the law was no "silver bullet" against online harm and could push kids into "covert and unregulated" spaces online. djw/mp/cwl Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, sports, arts & entertainment, state legislature, CFD news, and more.Marc-Andre Fleury’s game still blooms in new Wild role

(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday picked former congressman Billy Long to be commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service tax body. Trump cited Long's previous experience in real estate and as a business and tax advisor in a post on social-media site Truth Social, where he made the announcement. (Reporting by Costas Pitas) Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

Retail sales rose at healthy pace last month in latest sign of US economy's health WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers stepped up their spending at retail stores last month, providing a boost to the economy in the early phases of the winter holiday shopping season. Retail sales rose 0.7% in November, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, a solid increase and higher than October’s 0.5% gain. The boost in spending underscores that the economy is still growing at a healthy pace even with higher interest rates, a trend that could cause the Federal Reserve to lower borrowing costs more slowly next year than they have previously signaled. Tuesday’s report arrives just a day before the Fed is set to announce its latest rate decision Wednesday. Americans end 2024 with grim economic outlook, but Republicans are optimistic for 2025: AP-NORC poll WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll finds that Democrats are feeling more pessimistic about the U.S. economy after Donald Trump's victory. Republicans, meanwhile, are still dour about the current state of the economy but hopeful that growth will be stronger next year when Trump returns to the White House as president. The latest survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggests that some Americans are evaluating the economy more by who holds political power than on what the underlying trends suggest. This was a persistent challenge for President Joe Biden and raises the possibility that Trump might also struggle to translate his economic ideas into political wins. Biden calls for ban on congressional stock trading WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has endorsed a ban on congressional stock trading in an interview that’s being released this week. It's the first time he's publicly backed the idea. He made the comments to Faiz Shakir, a political adviser for Sen. Bernie Sanders. Shakir interviewed the Democratic president for A More Perfect Union, a pro-labor advocacy and journalism organization. The Associated Press reviewed a video of the interview before its release. A bipartisan proposal to ban trading by members of Congress and their families has dozens of sponsors, but it has not received a vote. What does Big Tech hope to gain from warming up to Trump? NEW YORK (AP) — In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs have joined a parade of business and world leaders in trying to improve their standing with President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January. The tech list includes Apple’s Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Meanwhile, the list of what the executives may be hoping for includes an open path toward developing artificial intelligence, easier access to energy for data centers and an easing of antitrust enforcement. Federal Reserve is likely to slow its rate cuts with inflation pressures still elevated WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans hoping for lower borrowing costs for homes, credit cards and cars may be disappointed after this week’s Federal Reserve meeting. The Fed’s policymakers are likely to signal fewer interest rate cuts next year than were previously expected. The officials are set to reduce their benchmark rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, by a quarter-point to about 4.3% when their meeting ends Wednesday. The problem is that while inflation has dropped far below its peak of 9.1% in mid-2022, it remains stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target. Why is tech giant SoftBank investing over $100 billion in the US? BANGKOK (AP) — Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son has joined President-elect Donald Trump in announcing plans by technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group to invest $100 billion in projects in the United States. Trump said the investments would create 100,000 jobs over four years, twice what Son promised when he pledged $50 billion in U.S. investments in 2016. Son is known for making bold choices, sometimes paying big and sometimes not. SoftBank has investments in dozens of Silicon Valley startups, big companies like semiconductor maker Arm and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The stock market rally and craze for AI has boosted the value of its assets, but some question if its investments will create that many jobs. Business owners should not forget anti-money laundering rule currently in legal limbo Small business owners should not forget about a rule that requires them to register with an agency called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, by Jan. 1. The registration is part of the Corporate Transparency Act passed in 2021. Registering isn’t difficult, but if a small business owner is unaware of the requirement, they could be slapped with penalties of up to $10,000. For now, the rule is in legal limbo. On Dec. 3 a federal court in Texas issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of the rule. Stellantis pledges invest $2.1 million in Italian production in 2025 during talks with government MILAN (AP) — The Stellantis automaker has pledged to invest 2 billion euros or $2.1 billion in Italian production next year and spend another 6 billion euros or $6.3 billion in the supply chain. The head of European operations for the world's fifth-largest carmaker made the pledge during a meeting with Italian ministers, regional officials and unions following the forced resignation of former CEO Carlos Tavares earlier this month. The Italian government was seeking reassurances of Stellantis' commitment to Italy. Billion-dollar donation from Netflix's Reed Hastings leads 2024's list of biggest gifts Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg made the largest contributions in 2024, and financial aid, especially for medical students, got most of the money. The Chronicle’s annual list of the biggest charitable donations from individuals or their foundations totaled nearly $6 billion in 2024, with half of that coming from three contributions of $1 billion or more each. Two of those three gifts went to medical schools to provide financial aid. Altogether, four of the top donations on the list, totaling $2.3 billion, went to support financial aid. Stock market today: Wall Street trims its stellar gains as Nvidia's star dims again NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are trimming some of their stellar gains for the year. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% in Tuesday afternoon trading, though it’s still near its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 343 points, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.4% from its record set the day before. Nvidia, the superstar stock that’s been a big reason for Wall Street’s run to records this year, fell toward its eighth loss in the last nine days. Treasury yields held relatively steady after sales at U.S. retailers strengthened by more than expected. Bitcoin set another record.

Cuba calls Trump proposal for mass deportation of immigrants unrealistic(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday picked former congressman Billy Long to be commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service tax body. Trump cited Long's previous experience in real estate and as a business and tax advisor in a post on social-media site Truth Social, where he made the announcement. (Reporting by Costas Pitas)

Magic may have touched Fairview football’s Class 5A quarterfinal game at EchoPark Stadium during last week’s stunner over No. 2 Mountain Vista, but on Saturday afternoon in the same location, it was the No. 7 Knights who were spellbound.

Hegseth fights to save Pentagon nomination as sources say Trump considers DeSantis

Perry-Martel International Named 2024 Construction Agency Of The Year By Prestige Award CanadaAdewale 0-2 0-0 0, Klaczek 0-5 4-4 4, Briggs 4-9 6-6 17, Marshall 3-7 9-10 17, Strand 1-4 2-2 5, Neely 6-14 0-0 12, Matulu 1-1 0-0 2, Lindsey 4-5 0-0 8, Taylor 1-4 0-0 3, Adnan 0-2 0-0 0, Reddish 0-1 0-0 0, Topuz 0-2 0-0 0, Giralt 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 20-56 21-24 68. Fielder 3-6 3-3 10, Sorber 6-9 1-1 14, Epps 4-7 0-0 8, Mack 6-8 1-1 16, Peavy 9-14 3-3 24, Burks 5-6 0-0 11, Mulready 1-3 0-0 2, Ca.Williams 4-6 1-1 9, Cu.Williams 2-3 0-0 4, McKenna 1-1 0-0 2, Asadallah 0-1 0-0 0, Montgomery 0-1 0-0 0, Van Raaphorst 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 41-65 9-9 100. Halftime_Georgetown 49-35. 3-Point Goals_Albany (NY) 7-22 (Briggs 3-5, Marshall 2-3, Strand 1-3, Taylor 1-3, Adnan 0-1, Reddish 0-1, Topuz 0-1, Klaczek 0-2, Neely 0-3), Georgetown 9-22 (Mack 3-4, Peavy 3-6, Burks 1-2, Fielder 1-2, Sorber 1-2, Montgomery 0-1, Cu.Williams 0-1, Epps 0-2, Mulready 0-2). Rebounds_Albany (NY) 21 (Neely 5), Georgetown 33 (Sorber 13). Assists_Albany (NY) 6 (Marshall, Neely 2), Georgetown 26 (Peavy 8). Total Fouls_Albany (NY) 14, Georgetown 17. A_4,227 (20,356).Gus Malzahn is leaving UCF to become Florida State's offensive coordinator, AP source says

Commonwealth plans world's first grid-scale fusion power plant in Virginia