nicehck db3 Two Second Cup café locations at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital have been shut down and the franchise owner's contract terminated after the individual was filmed on Friday making "hateful remarks and gestures," according to the Canadian company. In a statement posted to its social media pages, Second Cup Canada said it has "zero tolerance for hate speech." "In co-ordination with the hospital, we've shut down the franchisee's café and are terminating their franchise agreement," the statement reads. The company said it will retain the staff and continue paying them until the locations at the hospital reopen under new management. The CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, the health authority that oversees the hospital, says it was made aware of a video "containing antisemitic and hateful messaging that has been circulating on social media." "We fully support Second Cup's decision to take swift and decisive action in this matter by shutting down the franchisee's cafés and terminating their lease agreement," a statement to CBC reads. It added the CIUSSS stands "firmly against antisemitism and any other form of discrimination or hate speech." The incident follows a surge in tensions in Montreal following recent protests. On Thursday, student protesters held a rally calling for Quebec post-secondary institutions to divest from companies with ties to Israel and called on the federal government to take a stance against the war in Gaza. On Friday, three people were arrested after protests by pro-Palestinian and anti-NATO demonstrators turned violent, with protesters throwing objects at police, lighting two vehicles on fire and breaking windows. The protest was condemned by politicians of all stripes Saturday as acts of antisemitism, which one organizer rejected, saying the protests were against the actions of the state of Israel and not Jewish people.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, has died at 1001 How to get more cards for free in Pokemon TCG Pocket 2 How to get strong cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket 3 How to buy cards you need in Pokemon TCG Pocket 4 Build off what you already have 5 Test your decks-in-progress against friends Pokemon TCG Pockets’ Genetic Apex expansion has been out for several weeks, and for many, building a deck capable of crushing opponents still feels like an overwhelming task. However, with a few strategies, you can have a deck fit for competitive matches and any events currently active. Building competitive decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket doesn’t have to cost money. In fact, if players are using their resources correctly, putting one together will only cost a bit of time. With multiple currencies, events, and battle challenges providing opportunities to open packs, getting a library of cards together can be done in just a few weeks. Below is our guide for building powerful, meta decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket using the Genetic Apex expansion, and how to use your resources for the best possible pack pulls and card variety. How to get more cards for free in Pokemon TCG Pocket The first and most important thing for players to look at when jumping into competitive deck building in Pokemon TCG Pocket is card lists . There are three card lists in the Genetic Apex expansion, each offering different options for fans. Strong decks often have evolutionary lines or Trainer cards from multiple sets. To ensure you have the best chance of getting the cards you need, try opening the same type of card pack many times in a row . For example, if you are trying to run a Charizard ex/Moltres ex deck, you’ll need to open Charizard card packs to obtain the needed basic, Stage 1, and ex cards. It might be tempting to jump from set to set. Especially if you are following theories like the bent corners “hack” , or the idea that switching up what you pull from will lead to better pulls or god packs. None of these theorized exploits are real. The best way to get the cards you need to to optimize the number of times you are pulling from the same pool. The best way to open more packs in TCG Pocket is to take advantage of everything you can do daily. First, always make sure you are opening the two packs you get daily. If you subscribe to the Premium Pass, you’ll get an extra pack for a total of three. Related: Below are all the ways to open more packs every day: Complete daily log-in bonuses – By completing three of these, you will get four hourglasses for pack opening cooldowns. Do all the solo battle challenges – The rewards for these contain dozens of Hourglasses, and they don’t require you to have an overpowered deck. For most of these, even a rental deck will do. Battle others frequently, even if you lose – Don’t be afraid to jump into the ring with other players. Even if you lose, you will likely be sent a Shop Ticket for every battle. These can be used to buy Hourglasses from the shop. Participate in all events – Events have rewards that contain Hourglasses, and the requirements aren’t usually unreasonable. Level Up – By doing all the daily tasks and battles you can in Pokemon TCG Pocket, you will level up rapidly. Every level grants rewards, including 12 hourglasses, or a full pack cooldown. How to get strong cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket The best way to get the strongest cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket is by opening packs . While there is no way to guarantee a “good” pull while cracking boosters, there are some ways to put the odds in your favor. Open packs with the desired rare cards repeatedly. Don’t skip between packs Focus on cards that are strong, but aren’t as rare as alt arts or immersive rares Use the Wonder Pick whenever you see a card you need as an option When building a deck, the first thing to do is erase the idea of pulling cards from your mind. If you are fixated on getting rare cards, you might miss out on opportunities to build a strong deck with more common cards. For example, Genetic Apex’s Greninja is a very powerful option for a water deck, while Zebstika is great for an early eclectic deck. By putting these less-rare cards in your sight, you can build a solid B-tier deck and then add rares like ex cards when they do get pulled later down the road. It’s easy to get hung up on wanting to crack open a pack full of holo cards, but the reality is that a lot of those “rare” cards aren’t particularly good for deck building, and those that are could take a while to get. If you start looking for strategies in what you do have on hand, you might be surprised by what you can put together. How to buy cards you need in Pokemon TCG Pocket There are two ways to buy cards while playing Pokemon TCG Pocket from the main shop and using Pack Points . In the shop, tickets can be exchanged for Trainer and Supporter cards. When you are first starting out, we highly recommend you buy two of each of everything in the shop . Decks will reuse your cards, so you only need two of each, and then you will have them as core foundations for strong deck building. Pack Points are much trickier. For every pack you open, you will get 5 Pack Points. One diamond rares cost 35 Pack Points, two diamond rares cost 70 Pack Points, three diamond rares cost 150 Pack Points, and anything above that will cost 400 Pack Points or more. Illustration rares cost 1,250 while immersive cards cost 1,500. The most expensive are gold rares at 2,500 Pack Points. Because of this, just getting a Venusuar ex at 500 Pack Points will require players to open 100 Genetic Apex card packs. If you are only opening two packs a day, that would be 50 days of grinding for a card that isn’t hard to pull while opening packs. Because of this, we recommend using Pack Points to get the one through three diamond rares needed for deck building . This includes basics like Charmander or Bulbasaur, and key energy accelerators like Gardevoir. This is because pulling multiples of these less-rare cards can still be difficult, but they are essential for deck running. For example, you might be like me and get lucky pulling the illustration rare Charizard ex early in the expansion, but then not be able to use it in decks due to having no Charmanders. Or you may have Zapdos ex, and then only have Eevee to stick alongside it in a deck. This is when picking up a few Blitzle and Zebstrika can be a game-changer. Build off what you already have While we all have dream decks, the biggest tip we can give for building a strong, competitive deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket is to work with cards you’ve already pulled . If you have a Zapdos ex or two and no Charizard ex, don’t try and build a Charizard ex deck. If you have Gardevoir and Gengar ex, don’t hold out for Mewtwo ex. For example, my first deck was a mixture of Zapdos ex and Zebstrika. It was a solid A-tier deck that won more than half of the matches. While I was using that, I acquired enough cards from packs opened via hourglasses to build my first Charizard ex deck. However, I didn’t have Moltres ex for the Energy acceleration, so I leaned hard on a standard Moltres card and Arcanine ex to carry through battles. When I finally pulled my first Moltres ex card, I swapped it in and now I have a very powerful deck, but I didn’t wait until I had all the cards to build it. Improvise and use strategies in the cards you have . Waiting for the perfect deck will cause you to miss out on events, and potentially end up chasing “perfect” meta decks that are constantly changing. Test your decks-in-progress against friends If you are nervous about taking your new strategy up against someone online with a Mewtwo ex deck, test your new deck changes against players you know before jumping into event PvP matches. This is a great way to get feedback on your deck, make changes quickly, and workshop what may or may not work. Additionally, you can test your deck in solo mode, though playing against a computer may not offer the same feedback as a battle against another trainer. The most important takeaway when building a powerful deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket is to stay flexible. What is popular now will change with the next expansion, and strategies at the top of the meta now will get flipped when trainers discover something new and implement it. Combine what works already with cards you enjoy, and what what cool combinations you can cook up.NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising toward records Tuesday after Donald Trump’s latest talk about tariffs created only some ripples on Wall Street, even if they could roil the global economy were they to take effect. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% and was on track to top its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 81 points, or 0.2%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher, with less than an hour remaining in trading. 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 the latest need-to-know information delivered to your inbox as it happens. Our flagship newsletter. 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WASHINGTON >> Jimmy Carter, the earnest Georgia peanut farmer who as U.S. president struggled with a bad economy and the Iran hostage crisis but brokered peace between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday, the Carter Center said. He was 100. “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love,” said Chip Carter, the former president’s son. “My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.” A Democrat, he served as president from January 1977 to January 1981 after defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 U.S. election. Carter was swept from office four years later in an electoral landslide as voters embraced Republican challenger Ronald Reagan, the former actor and California governor. Carter lived longer after his term in office than any other U.S. president. Along the way, he earned a reputation as a better former president than he was a president — a status he readily acknowledged. His one-term presidency was marked by the highs of the 1978 Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt, bringing some stability to the Middle East. But it was dogged by an economy in recession, persistent unpopularity and the embarrassment of the Iran hostage crisis that consumed his final 444 days in office. In recent years, Carter had experienced several health issues including melanoma that spread to his liver and brain. Carter decided to receive hospice care in February 2023 instead of undergoing additional medical intervention. His wife, Rosalynn Carter, died on Nov. 19, 2023, at age 96. He looked frail when he attended her memorial service and funeral in a wheelchair. Carter left office profoundly unpopular but worked energetically for decades on humanitarian causes. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 in recognition of his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Carter had been a centrist as governor of Georgia with populist tendencies when he moved into the White House as the 39th U.S. president. He was a Washington outsider at a time when America was still reeling from the Watergate scandal that led Republican Richard Nixon to resign as president in 1974 and elevated Ford from vice president. “I’m Jimmy Carter and I’m running for president. I will never lie to you,” Carter promised with an ear-to-ear smile. Asked to assess his presidency, Carter said in a 1991 documentary: “The biggest failure we had was a political failure. I never was able to convince the American people that I was a forceful and strong leader.” Despite his difficulties in office, Carter had few rivals for accomplishments as a former president. He gained global acclaim as a tireless human rights advocate, a voice for the disenfranchised and a leader in the fight against hunger and poverty, winning the respect that eluded him in the White House. Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to promote human rights and resolve conflicts around the world, from Ethiopia and Eritrea to Bosnia and Haiti. His Carter Center in Atlanta sent international election-monitoring delegations to polls around the world. A Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher since his teens, Carter brought a strong sense of morality to the presidency, speaking openly about his religious faith. He also sought to take some pomp out of an increasingly imperial presidency – walking, rather than riding in a limousine, in his 1977 inauguration parade. The Middle East was the focus of Carter’s foreign policy. The 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, based on the 1978 Camp David accords, ended a state of war between the two neighbors. Carter brought Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland for talks. Later, as the accords seemed to be unraveling, Carter saved the day by flying to Cairo and Jerusalem for personal shuttle diplomacy. The treaty provided for Israeli withdrawal from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and establishment of diplomatic relations. Begin and Sadat each won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. By the 1980 election, the overriding issues were double-digit inflation, interest rates that exceeded 20% and soaring gas prices, as well as the Iran hostage crisis that brought humiliation to America. These issues marred Carter’s presidency and undermined his chances of winning a second term. HOSTAGE CRISIS On Nov. 4, 1979, revolutionaries devoted to Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seized the Americans present and demanded the return of the ousted shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was backed by the United States and was being treated in a U.S. hospital. The American public initially rallied behind Carter. But his support faded in April 1980 when a commando raid failed to rescue the hostages, with eight U.S. soldiers killed in an aircraft accident in the Iranian desert. Carter’s final ignominy was that Iran held the 52 hostages until minutes after Reagan took his oath of office on Jan. 20, 1981, to replace Carter, then released the planes carrying them to freedom. In another crisis, Carter protested the former Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by boycotting the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. He also asked the U.S. Senate to defer consideration of a major nuclear arms accord with Moscow. Unswayed, the Soviets remained in Afghanistan for a decade. Carter won narrow Senate approval in 1978 of a treaty to transfer the Panama Canal to the control of Panama despite critics who argued the waterway was vital to American security. He also completed negotiations on full U.S. ties with China. Carter created two new U.S. Cabinet departments – education and energy. Amid high gas prices, he said America’s “energy crisis” was “the moral equivalent of war” and urged the country to embrace conservation. “Ours is the most wasteful nation on earth,” he told Americans in 1977. In 1979, Carter delivered what became known as his “malaise” speech to the nation, although he never used that word. “After listening to the American people I have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can’t fix what’s wrong with America,” he said in his televised address. “The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.” As president, the strait-laced Carter was embarrassed by the behavior of his hard-drinking younger brother, Billy Carter, who had boasted: “I got a red neck, white socks, and Blue Ribbon beer.” ‘THERE YOU GO AGAIN’ Jimmy Carter withstood a challenge from Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy for the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination but was politically diminished heading into his general election battle against a vigorous Republican adversary. Reagan, the conservative who projected an image of strength, kept Carter off balance during their debates before the November 1980 election. Reagan dismissively told Carter, “There you go again,” when the Republican challenger felt the president had misrepresented Reagan’s views during one debate. Carter lost the 1980 election to Reagan, who won 44 of the 50 states and amassed an Electoral College landslide. James Earl Carter Jr. was born on Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, one of four children of a farmer and shopkeeper. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946, served in the nuclear submarine program and left to manage the family peanut farming business. He married his wife, Rosalynn, in 1946, a union he called “the most important thing in my life.” They had three sons and a daughter. Carter became a millionaire, a Georgia state legislator and Georgia’s governor from 1971 to 1975. He mounted an underdog bid for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination, and out-hustled his rivals for the right to face Ford in the general election. With Walter Mondale as his vice presidential running mate, Carter was given a boost by a major Ford gaffe during one of their debates. Ford said that “there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration,” despite decades of just such domination. Carter edged Ford in the election, even though Ford actually won more states – 27 to Carter’s 23. Not all of Carter’s post-presidential work was appreciated. Former President George W. Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, both Republicans, were said to have been displeased by Carter’s freelance diplomacy in Iraq and elsewhere. In 2004, Carter called the Iraq war launched in 2003 by the younger Bush one of the most “gross and damaging mistakes our nation ever made.” He called George W. Bush’s administration “the worst in history” and said Vice President Dick Cheney was “a disaster for our country.” In 2019, Carter questioned Republican Donald Trump’s legitimacy as president, saying “he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.” Trump responded by calling Carter “a terrible president.” Carter also made trips to communist North Korea. A 1994 visit defused a nuclear crisis, as President Kim Il Sung agreed to freeze his nuclear program in exchange for resumed dialogue with the United States. That led to a deal in which North Korea, in return for aid, promised not to restart its nuclear reactor or reprocess the plant’s spent fuel. But Carter irked Democratic President Bill Clinton’s administration by announcing the deal with North Korea’s leader without first checking with Washington. In 2010, Carter won the release of an American sentenced to eight years hard labor for illegally entering North Korea. Carter wrote more than two dozen books, ranging from a presidential memoir to a children’s book and poetry, as well as works about religious faith and diplomacy. His book “Faith: A Journey for All,” was published in 2018.After delay, Trump signs agreement with Biden White House to begin formal transition handoff

4 Dependable Singapore Blue-Chip Stocks That You Can Pass Down to Your ChildrenRomania PM fends off far-right challenge in presidential first round

Around Iowa: Attorney faces sanctions for missing deadlines

Romania's pro-European Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu was leading in the first round of presidential elections Sunday according to exit polls, with the far right not yet assured of a place in the second round, despite a breakthrough in support. With 25 percent of the vote according to two exit polls, Ciolacu appeared to be well ahead of far-right challengers looking to capitalise on this EU member's concerns about inflation and the war in neighbouring Ukraine. The same exit polls gave second place to centre-right former journalist turned small-town mayor Elena Lasconi at 18 percent, with two far-right candidates scoring 15 and 16 percent. In the absence of an outright winner in the first round -- scoring more than 50 percent -- the top two candidates go through to a second-round run-off in the poor NATO member on December 8. Ciolacu, a Social Democrat, is leading a field of 13 contenders in the race to take over from President Klaus Iohannis in the largely ceremonial post. He welcomed the exit polls putting him in the lead, but said all the votes would have to be counted before he knew who he would face in the second round. Lasconi too, was cautious. "The scores are very tight, it's not yet time to celebrate," said the 52-year-old politician. Far-right leader George Simion, 38, who some had forecast might take second place, is for the moment in fourth. Exit polls put him just behind the 62-year-old pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu. But Simion said Sunday evening: "We'll see the results of the ballot boxes at 11:00 pm (2100 GMT)." Ciolacu's party has shaped Romania's politics for more than three decades, and as he voted Sunday he promised stability and a "decent" standard of living. But political analyst Cristian Parvulescu told AFP: "The far right is by far the big winner of this election." Simion saw his popularity surge by tapping into voter anger over record inflation while promising more affordable housing. Looking for a new election breakthrough for European far-right parties, Simion warned of possible "fraud" and "foreign interference" when voting. But he added: "I am happy that we are giving Romanians hope and the prospect of a better future." The stakes are high for Romania, which has a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has become more important since Russia invaded its neighbour in 2022. The Black Sea nation now plays a "vital strategic role" for NATO -- as it is a base for more than 5,000 soldiers -- and the transit of Ukrainian grain, the New Strategy Center think tank said. Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election has further "complicated" Romania's choice, political analyst Cristian Pirvulescu told AFP. Known for his fiery speeches, Simion is a Trump fan who sometimes dons a red cap in appreciation of his idol. Simion opposes sending military aid to Ukraine, wants a "more patriotic Romania" and frequently lashes out against what he calls the "greedy corrupt bubble" running the European Union. Having campaigned hard to win over Romania's large diaspora working abroad, he said the country had only "minions and cowards as leaders". Pirvulescu predicted that if Simion reached the second round his AUR party would get a boost in the December parliamentary election. "Romanian democracy is in danger for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989," he said. "I'm really afraid we'll end up with Simion in the second round," 36-year-old IT worker Oana Diaconu told AFP, expressing concern about the far-right leader's unpredictable nature and attacks on the European Union. The campaign was marked by controversy and personal attacks, with Simion facing accusations of meeting with Russian spies -- a claim he has denied. Ciolacu has been criticised for his use of private jets. Some observers had tipped Lasconi, now mayor of the small town of Campulung and head of a centre-right opposition party, as a surprise package. Sunday's exit polls appeared to suggest they were right. During campaigning, she had said she wanted a future "where no one has to pack their suitcases and leave" the country and for "institutions that work". bur/js-jj/