Interim director takes over IT
WASHINGTON — After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the last two years. Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz and spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed. Thursday morning Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” host whom Trump has tapped to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth also has faced allegations of sexual assault that he denies. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings in coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. The role of introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is an unusual one for a vice president-elect. Usually the job goes to a former senator who has close relationships on the Hill, or a more junior aide. But this time the role fits Vance, said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s first director of legislative affairs as well as chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent more than a decade in Congress and led the former president’s transition ahead of his first term. ”JD probably has a lot of current allies in the Senate and so it makes sense to have him utilized in that capacity,” Short said. Unlike the first Trump transition, which played out before cameras at Trump Tower in New York and at the president-elect’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this one has largely happened behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida. There, a small group of officials and aides meet daily at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to run through possible contenders and interview job candidates. The group includes Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club that Trump has joked he can’t get rid of him. Vance has been a constant presence, even as he’s kept a lower profile. The Ohio senator has spent much of the last two weeks in Palm Beach, according to people familiar with his plans, playing an active role in the transition, on which he serves as honorary chair. Vance has been staying at a cottage on the property of the gilded club, where rooms are adorned with cherubs, oriental rugs and intricate golden inlays. It’s a world away from the famously hardscrabble upbringing that Vance documented in the memoir that made him famous, “Hillbilly Elegy.” His young children have also joined him at Mar-a-Lago, at times. Vance was photographed in shorts and a polo shirt playing with his kids on the seawall of the property with a large palm frond, a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the distance. On the rare days when he is not in Palm Beach, Vance has been joining the sessions remotely via Zoom. Though he has taken a break from TV interviews after months of constant appearances, Vance has been active in the meetings, which began immediately after the election and include interviews and as well as presentations on candidates’ pluses and minuses. Among those interviewed: Contenders to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray, as Vance wrote in a since-deleted social media post. Defending himself from criticism that he’d missed a Senate vote in which one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees was confirmed, Vance wrote that he was meeting at the time “with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.” “I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance added on X. “But that’s just me.” While Vance did not come in to the transition with a list of people he wanted to see in specific roles, he and his friend, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is also a member of the transition team, were eager to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. find roles in the administration. Trump ended up selecting Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence, a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. And he chose Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, a massive agency that oversees everything from drug and food safety to Medicare and Medicaid. Vance was also a big booster of Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who will serve as Trump’s “border czar.” In another sign of Vance’s influence, James Braid, a top aide to the senator, is expected to serve as Trump’s legislative affairs director. Allies say it’s too early to discuss what portfolio Vance might take on in the White House. While he gravitates to issues like trade, immigration and tech policy, Vance sees his role as doing whatever Trump needs. Vance was spotted days after the election giving his son’s Boy Scout troop a tour of the Capitol and was there the day of leadership elections. He returned in earnest this week, first with Gaetz — arguably Trump’s most divisive pick — and then Hegseth, who has was been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, according to an investigative report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office as GOP senators, including those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filtered in to meet with the nominee for defense secretary. While a president’s nominees usually visit individual senators’ offices, meeting them on their own turf, the freshman senator — who is accompanied everywhere by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more unwieldy — instead brought Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday and Hegseth to his office on Thursday. Senators came to them. Vance made it to votes Wednesday and Thursday, but missed others on Thursday afternoon. Vance is expected to continue to leverage his relationships in the Senate after Trump takes office. But many Republicans there have longer relationships with Trump himself. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said that Trump was often the first person to call him back when he was trying to reach high-level White House officials during Trump’s first term. “He has the most active Rolodex of just about anybody I’ve ever known,” Cramer said, adding that Vance would make a good addition. “They’ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here,” Cramer said, but added, “Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.” Cramer was complimentary of the Ohio senator, saying he was “pleasant” and ” interesting” to be around. ′′He doesn’t have the long relationships,” he said. “But we all like people that have done what we’ve done. I mean, that’s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.” Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he’s not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, who broke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president, since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year. Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
The City of Pembroke says repair work at the Kinsmen Pool is in its final stages, and it could reopen early in the new year. The city closed the public pool at the start of January, describing the 51-year-old building as "at its end of life." Council voted to move forward with a $1.4-million repair plan , which the City of Pembroke said in a news release Monday was initially expected to be completed in September , but it has faced delays related to lighting and extensive damage to the tile on the pool deck. "The lighting repairs are done, which has allowed the contractors to start the repairs on the damaged tile. Unfortunately, the repairs couldn't be done simultaneously because of the installation and cure time requirements of tile," the release said. Once contracted work is complete, there would be additional work by the city's Parks and Recreation Department to prepare for opening. City staff said there is no confirmed date yet for when the pool will reopen. "A date for the pool's re-opening is not available currently as work is still underway, but it is expected to reopen in the early part of the New Year," the City of Pembroke said. To help pay for the expense, Pembroke called on surrounding municipalities and organizations to help cover costs. The City said Monday that the Township of Laurentian Valley has confirmed that it would contribute up to 30 per cent of the net cost to a maximum of $420,000, and that the Friends of the Regional Pool group has managed to raise $92,000 so far through fundraising efforts. "The ongoing renovations have been unexpected, but necessary to be ready for safe use of our pool facility," said Mayor Ron Gervais in the release. "We are excited to see the project continuing to move along and continue to ask for patience as we finalize the project." Pembroke City Council initially voted against the repair plan, suggesting instead the City explore building a brand new pool, at an estimated cost of $40 million, with a five to seven-year build time. Community members pushed back against that idea, and council later agreed to go ahead with repairs. The repair work has been ongoing since June. Ottawa Top Stories FREEZING RAIN WARNING | 1 to 3 mm of freezing rain possible in Ottawa-Gatineau tonight OC Transpo well below punctuality targets on 'less frequent' routes Cargo ship runs aground in St. Lawrence River near Morrisburg, Ont. 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Vancouver Island Canadian Army corporal fined for stolen valour at Remembrance Day ceremony A corporal in the Canadian Army has been fined $2,000 and given a severe reprimand for wearing service medals he didn't earn during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Alberta two years ago. Deer spotted wearing high-visibility safety jacket in Northern B.C. Andrea Arnold is used to having to slow down to let deer cross the road in her Northern B.C. community. But this weekend she saw something that made her pull over and snap a photo. Vancouver Whitecaps drop head coach Vanni Sartini Two weeks after the Vancouver Whitecaps’ playoff run ended in the first round, the team has fired head coach Vanni Sartini. Kelowna Man in hospital following targeted shooting in Kamloops Police are appealing for information on a targeted shooting that resulted in the hospitalization of a man in Kamloops. 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The 138 new asteroids range from the size of a bus to the size of a stadium — a size range in the main belt that has not been observable with ground-based telescopes. Knowing how many main belt asteroids are in different size ranges can tell us something about how asteroids have been changed over time by collisions. That process is related to how some of them have escaped the main belt over the solar system’s history, and even how meteorites end up on Earth. “We now understand more about how small objects in the asteroid belt are formed and how many there could be,” said Tom Greene, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and co-author on the paper presenting the results. “Asteroids this size likely formed from collisions between larger ones in the main belt and are likely to drift towards the vicinity of Earth and the Sun.” Insights from this research could inform the work of the Asteroid Threat Assessment Project at Ames. ATAP works across disciplines to support NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office by studying what would happen in the case of an Earth impact and modeling the associated risks. “It’s exciting that Webb’s capabilities can be used to glean insights into asteroids,” said Jessie Dotson, an astrophysicist at Ames and member of ATAP. “Understanding the sizes, numbers, and evolutionary history of smaller main belt asteroids provides important background about the near-Earth asteroids we study for planetary defense.” The team that made the asteroid detections, led by research scientist Artem Burdanov and professor of planetary science Julien de Wit, both of MIT, developed a method to analyze existing Webb images for the presence of asteroids that may have been inadvertently “caught on film” as they passed in front of the telescope. Using the new image processing technique, they studied more than 10,000 images of the star TRAPPIST-1 , originally taken to search for atmospheres around planets orbiting the star, in the search for life beyond Earth. Asteroids shine more brightly in infrared light, the wavelength Webb is tuned to detect, than in visible light, helping reveal the population of main belt asteroids that had gone unnoticed until now. NASA will also take advantage of that infrared glow with an upcoming mission, the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor . NEO Surveyor is the first space telescope specifically designed to hunt for near-Earth asteroids and comets that may be potential hazards to Earth. The paper presenting this research, “ Detections of decameter main-belt asteroids with JWST ,” was published Dec. 9 in Nature. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency). For news media : Members of the news media interested in covering this topic should reach out to the NASA Ames newsroom .What's New? Ukraine is set to receive a major boost to its air defenses from one of its staunch allies, following a series of major aerial assaults by Russia. On Thursday, the Danish Ministry of Defense announced that an aid package totaling 2.1 billion Danish Krone ($293 million) had been allocated to Ukraine . Included in the package are funds to "strengthen Ukraine's air defense." The Ministry said that financing will also be provided for "the operation of the Ukrainian F-16 capability." Alongside Sweden , Denmark will also be providing Ukraine with an unspecified number of CV90 infantry fighting vehicles—armored miniature tanks already operational in Ukraine —and deploying more personnel to assist NATO and the European Union in their missions supporting Ukraine. When contacted for further information on the package, the Danish Ministry of Defense told Newsweek it was unable to comment on Ukrainian air defenses for reasons of operational security. Why It Matters "One of Ukraine's most urgent needs right now is to be able to defend itself against the Russian airstrikes," Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on Thursday. "That is why we have prioritized more support for air defense." Although Western allies have significantly upgraded Ukraine's air defenses, the country has endured a series of Russian aerial attacks targeting its cities and critical infrastructure. Last Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky said that 93 missiles and 200 drones had been launched at Ukraine , in what the president dubbed "one of the largest Russian attacks against our energy sector" since the war began. Zelensky said 81 of the missiles were intercepted, but power companies including DTEK and Ukrenergo reported significant damage at their facilities. This was followed by an assault on Kyiv on Friday morning, which caused fires to break out across the capital, leaving schools, medical facilities and residential buildings without power. What To Know Denmark has been a critical ally for Ukraine since the onset of the full-scale invasion, earmarking over $7 billion in funds for the country through to 2028, according to the Ministry of Defense. In addition to the support included in the latest package, Denmark has also been a key contributor to Ukraine's F-16 fighter jet fleet , alongside the Netherlands . On December 7, Zelensky announced that the second batch of Danish F-16s had arrived in Ukraine, and thanked the country for its continued support. "The aircraft from the first batch provided by the Danes are already shooting down Russian missiles and saving our people, our infrastructure," the president wrote on Telegram . "Now our air shield is additionally strengthened. If all partners were just as determined, we would have already managed to make Russian terror impossible." "Denmark has played a special role in building up with both donation of F-16 fighter jets and training of personnel," Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen said on Thursday. What People Are Saying Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen , on Thursday : "Russia will stop at nothing in their illegal war. This underlines the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian energy system, which are about squeezing the Ukrainian population during the cold winter months. It is inhumane. This only makes it even more important that Europe and Denmark continue to support Ukraine—especially for the Ukrainian air defense. We must put Ukraine in the best possible position." What Happens Next? As Ukraine petitions its Western allies to help shore up its air defenses, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to launch even more severe attacks on the country's major cities. During a conference on Thursday, Putin proposed conducting a " technological experiment " to test the capabilities of Russia's Oreshnik missile. He invited Ukraine's backers to "concentrate all their air and missile defense forces" in Kyiv to see whether these could intercept the hypersonic ballistic missile. Putin also encouraged the U.S. to deploy a THAAD anti-ballistic missile system in Ukraine as a similar training exercise to evaluate the strength of Russian missiles. Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.
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Political Shifts Loom as Unrest Grows in Maha Vikas AghadiGoogle's northwest Omaha data center just recently started operations, though it is not finished, a company spokesman said Monday. It is among Nebraska's three data center project sites that over five years has seen nearly $4.4 billion in capital investment. This year's investment was reported to be $930 million, the company said at a media event. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Now five years since Google built a physical presence in Nebraska, the tech giant on Monday announced its latest annual spend on infrastructure across the state: $930 million. The 2024 capital investment makes for a total so far of about $4.4 billion in Nebraska data centers to help meet growing demand for Google Cloud, artificial intelligence innovations and services such as the company’s search, maps and workspace programs, said spokesman Dan Harbeke. Just within the past few months, he said, Google’s sprawling data center site in northwest Omaha became operational but is not finished growing. Its newest data center project in Lincoln remains under construction on roughly 580 acres. And the original Google campus in Nebraska, a Papillion project that broke ground on 275 acres in late 2019, has continued to expand in various ways. “We’re effectively continuing to build out those footprints,” said Harbeke, regional head of public policy and external affairs. “We are not announcing any new sites this year but we are announcing continued growth and expansion across all three sites here in Nebraska.” Also during a news event Monday, Google announced a different kind of investment — philanthropic donations to support workforce development. Such contributions are separate and in addition to construction improvements, Harbeke said. Google.org , for instance, granted $250,000 to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support AI research and education across its campuses. Earlier this month, Google’s philanthropic arm also provided Creighton University with a $250,000 grant to support the private university’s efforts to prepare students for expanded uses of artificial intelligence. Company officials on Monday also described a $100,000 donation to the Lincoln Public Schools Foundation’s Spark Summer Camp program, which targets elementary school students interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. NU President Jeffrey Gold said the university gift underscores the shared commitment to harnessing the power of AI to ensure Nebraska is on the cutting edge of research, teaching and use. “Our hope is that this investment in Nebraska will lead to opportunities for economic growth and innovation,” Gold said. Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said investment in programs such as Spark underscores the Capital City’s “growing reputation” as a place for innovation and opportunity. “Google is helping to prepare Lincoln’s students and workforce for a rapidly evolving future,” she said. Google officials declined to provide detail on how the $930 million breaks down between data center sites. They also declined to disclose the number of employees per site but in a media statement said more than 120 jobs for Nebraskans have been created since 2019, in a variety of full time and external supplier roles, including computer technicians, engineers, maintenance and food service jobs. Harbeke said Google has started to see worker mobility and advancement within the state and the Omaha metro area, which includes the more established Council Bluffs plant. “We’re five years into our Nebraska footprint ... you’re seeing that movement among Googlers across these sites, which has been really neat to see,” Harbeke said. “One of the folks who is going to be leading our Lincoln campus worked out of our Papillion site.” U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., who joined Google officials Monday, said the Google technology investment gives the state a “competitive global advantage.” “These are the jobs of the future and they’re coming here to Nebraska,” he said. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., called Google a driver for secure U.S. infrastructure. “The importance of innovation in national security and AI between the public and private sectors cannot be understated and we’re working on that right here in Nebraska,” he said. Karen Dahut, CEO of Google public sector, said the Google data centers are essential to delivering cutting-edge products to a wide range of organizations that include government and educational institutions as well as the individual consumer. The computer-filled hubs are the engines that power technology and make local and global connections happen 24-7, Google said in a report about data centers . They are where Gmail and YouTube videos live. They are what keep the internet up and running. “We are grateful for the partnership from leaders across Nebraska as we have grown within the state,” Dahut said. “I look forward to exploring more opportunities to bring the power of Google Cloud’s technology to support the important missions of the public sector.” SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
By Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press LANDOVER, Md. — Austin Seibert missed his second extra point of the game with 21 seconds left after Washington’s Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin connected on an 86-yard touchdown, Dallas' Juanyeh Thomas returned the ensuing onside kick attempt for a touchdown, and the Cowboys pulled out a 34-26 victory Sunday that extended the Commanders' skid to three games. Seibert, who missed the previous two games with a right hip injury, was wide left on the point-after attempt following a low snap. Thomas then took the kick back 43 yards as the Cowboys (4-7) ended their losing streak at five in improbable fashion. Part of that was the play of backup Cooper Rush, who threw for 247 yards and two TDs in his third start in place of starter Dak Prescott. Part was also the defense forcing two turnovers, as Chauncey Golston ripped the ball out of Brian Robinson Jr.‘s hands for what was called an interception of Daniels in the second quarter, and Donovan Wilson stripped John Bates midway through the fourth. KaVonte Turpin provided the fireworks with a spinning, 99-yard kickoff return TD seconds after Daniels found Zach Ertz in the end zone and scored on a 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to three with 3:02 left. In the final three minutes alone, the Commanders (7-5) scored 10 points and allowed Thomas' TD. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver KaVontae Turpin (9) celebrates with teammates after scoring a 99-yard touchdown off a kickoff return during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) AP All that after the score was 10-9 through three quarters before madness ensued. Washington’s playoff hopes that looked solid not long ago are now in serious jeopardy after losing to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Dallas. Before the scoring outburst late, much of this defeat had to do with Daniels and the offense not being able to find any kind of a rhythm. The Cowboys did, despite playing without their two best offensive linemen, top cornerback and starting tight end. Rush’s 6-yard pass to Jalen Tolbert was Dallas' first third-quarter TD of the season, and his 22-yarder to Luke Schoonmaker came after Wilson’s forced fumble. Daniels finished 25 of 38 for 274 yards, including his second interception of the game on a failed Hail Mary as the clock expired. Rico Dowdle ran 19 times for 86 yards to spring the upset for the Cowboys, who were 10 1/2-point underdogs on BetMGM Sportsbook. Washington Commanders tight end John Bates (87) fumbles during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) AP Cowboys: LG Tyler Smith was inactive with ankle and knee injuries. ... RG Zack Martin (ankle), CB Trevon Diggs (groin/knee) and TE Jake Ferguson (concussion) were ruled out prior to game day and did not travel for the game. Commanders: RB Austin Ekeler was injured on a kickoff return in the final seconds. ... Robinson left with an ankle injury in the first half, returned and then left again. ... RT Andrew Wylie was concussed in the third quarter and did not return. ... C Tyler Biadasz was evaluated for a concussion in the fourth. ... CB Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) missed a third consecutive game since being acquired at the trade deadline from New Orleans. Cowboys: Host the New York Giants on Thursday in the traditional Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas. Commanders: Host the Tennessee Titans next Sunday in Washington’s final game before its late bye week. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl More sports news How to watch Eagles vs. Rams on ‘Sunday Night Football’: Time, TV channel, FREE live streams Northwestern field hockey wins NCAA Championship behind Hershey native’s two goals How to watch Cardinals vs. Seahawks NFL Week 12: Time, TV channel, FREE live stream How to watch Raiders vs. Broncos NFL Week 12: Time, TV channel, FREE live stream
Regulation could put working families’ jobs on the line and imperil our supply chain
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Jayden Brown had 17 points in Cent. Conn. St.'s 64-56 victory against Binghamton on Sunday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Jayden Brown had 17 points in Cent. Conn. St.'s 64-56 victory against Binghamton on Sunday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Jayden Brown had 17 points in Cent. Conn. St.’s 64-56 victory against Binghamton on Sunday. Brown added eight rebounds for the Blue Devils (3-3). Jordan Jones scored 15 points and added five rebounds. Davonte Sweatman shot 3 of 10 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 6 from the line to finish with 14 points. Tymu Chenery led the way for the Bearcats (2-5) with 16 points and four assists. Nehemiah Benson added 14 points and six rebounds for Binghamton. Gavin Walsh also had nine points and eight rebounds. NEXT UP Cent. Conn. St.’s next game is Sunday against UMass-Lowell at home. Binghamton squares off against Niagara on Friday. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. Advertisement
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street as the market posted its fifth straight gain and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched another record high. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The benchmark index’s 1.7% gain for the week erased most of its loss from last week. The Dow rose 1% as it nudged past its most recent high set last week, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump's victory, before falling again. The S&P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. It's now within about 0.5% of its all-time high set last week. “Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement. Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates. Gap soared 12.8% after handily beating analysts' third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 2.2% after raising its earnings forecast for the year. EchoStar fell 2.8% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit. Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%. A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 gained ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies. Nvidia fell 3.2%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology. Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.7%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.7% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. All told, the S&P 500 rose 20.63 points to 5,969.34. The Dow climbed 426.16 points to 44,296.51, and the Nasdaq picked up 42.65 points to close at 2,406.67. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.41% from 4.42% late Thursday. In the crypto market, bitcoin hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday. Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts' expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street. Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending. Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It's still up from 70.5 in October. The survey also showed that consumers' inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020. Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday. A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank's meeting in December.Trauma Fixation Devices Market to See Rapid Expansion Over the Next Decade 2024-2032
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