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Sinead Browne was only 12-years-old when she started running away. She went into care when she was 2-years-old, growing up in a mix of care homes and foster placements in London. She said: "I absconded from care many times, simply because I didn't feel safe. "There was risk of sexual abuse from other young people. Risk of abuse - not just sexual, but exploitation - from the carers. I also ran away because I didn't feel heard or didn't feel reflected in the household, so cultural differences, cultural clashes. "A lot of the time I also felt like I was just being used as a pay cheque. Foster carers often don't actually care about you. There are some amazing ones but for the most part you're a pay cheque. "So I would run away and then have to be brought back by a social worker or by the police." Most of the time Sinead would go to stay with a friend when she absconded from care. But once when she was living in a hostel when she was 16-years-old, she was taken by a neighbour to a drug den where she spent two days terrified to leave. "I couldn't call a social worker because I would have got in trouble, they would stop your pocket money that you got," she said. "I didn't have family, I didn't have anyone who I could call. My friend said just wait it out until you can get taken home. "That was the only time I ran away when I was really at risk. Because anyone could have burst into the house like a fellow gang, drug users coming with guns and knives." How to donate to Missing People Donate online: Visit this link or head to www.missingpeople.org.uk/mirror - read why we're supporting this campaign here. Text: To donate £5 Text HOPE5 to 70660 - To donate £10 Text HOPE10 to 70660 - To donate £15 Text HOPE15 to 70660 Terms & Conditions: *Text costs £5/£10 or £15 plus network charge. Missing People receives 100% of your donation. Obtain bill payer’s permission. Charity No England and Wales: 1020419 , Scotland: SC047419. Missing People will send regular updates via text and may contact you at any time to ask for your contact preference. Post: Please include your name and address and make cheques payable to ‘Missing People’ via free post: Freepost Plus RRKY–XSEC–XAEC. - Missing People - Roebuck House - 284 Upper Richmond Road West - London - SW14 7JE How your donation will help: £5 could help a missing child reach support - 11 could answer an urgent Helpline call from someone who is missing - £33 could give three families advice and help from a Support Worker - £110 could pay for two vital Counselling sessions to help a family to cope with the toughest of all losses How to contact Missing People - free and confidential: Call: 116 000. Text: 116 000. Email: 116000@missingpeople.org.uk How to contact Samaritans for mental health support: Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org Sinead urged people to get behind the Mirror's Christmas Appeal for the charity Missing People - the only UK charity supporting those affected by a disappearance. Someone is reported missing every 90 seconds in the UK. Recent figures show a 9% rise in the number of children reported missing each year, up from 69,050 in 2021-22 to 75,422 in 2022-23. There has also been an increase in the total going missing, from 166,463 to 171,192. She said understanding why young people are running away is crucial. "For me, running away from a foster placement because of cultural differences. Have that discussion, don't force me to stay there. Have the framework for young people to feel safe to talk about it. I didn't." The 34-year-old went on to become a solicitor and then set up Compliments of The House , a community-led food distribution charity that she founded after the pandemic.Weatherford International (OTCMKTS:WFTLF) Trading 6.9% Higher – Here’s What Happened

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SpaceX knocks out 1st of final 2 Space Coast launches of 2024T he thing that sticks in my mind — even now — was the welcoming eyes and the warm smile. He stretched out his hand to offer it in greeting and said something along the measure of: “Thanks for coming down to see us.” Jimmy Carter — who died Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia, at age 100 — was always known as a gentleman, a farmer from Georgia who had held the most powerful political office in the world. But it did not seem forced, it did not seem an act. I’d flown to the offices of The Carter Center in Atlanta to interview him about his latest book, The Hornet’s Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War . He’d written plenty of books — he would go on to author more than 30 — but this was his first novel, one that the publisher Simon & Schuster described as “a sweeping novel of the American South and the War of Independence.” The publisher had said: “With its moving love story, vivid action, and the suspense of a war fought with increasing ferocity and stealth, The Hornet’s Nest is historical fiction at its best, in the tradition of such major classics as The Last of the Mohicans .” In truth, the novel had been a bit slow going, packed dense with historical detail, but when The Independent received the chance to talk about it, we leaped. It was March 2004, a full year since George W Bush and Tony Blair launched the invasion of Iraq , sending the West’s military on what would be a disastrous and deadly war based on concocted claims and lies about Saddam Hussein’s purported arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. We hoped the former president might be persuaded to comment. His office made clear he only wished to talk about the novel, but either way, it was going to be a chance to meet and talk to someone who had probably been more active once they left the White House than any other modern president. I was nervous, rather in awe, and trying to act cool and professional, and suppress the voice in my head yelling: “You’re talking to the president of the United States.” It felt so loud, I wondered if he could hear. Carter could not have been more charming. Impeccably dressed in a blazer and tie, we sat in the airy lobby of his foundation, set on 35 acres of gardens and plants in the center of the city, and got started talking about his 465-page book about the War of Independence, which he had spent seven years researching. I had a digital recorder, which I did not trust, and — as now — was careful to take detailed shorthand notes. His view was that historians had misunderstood the war, concluding with the surrender of the British forces under General Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781, and it had been essential in creating the notion of how Americans see themselves. “This is a war that shaped the basic consciousness and character of our nation,” Carter said, He added: “I had wanted to write a book of fiction for a long time. I had written other books before. Just as a matter of challenge, I went back to college. I got professors to give me detailed reading assignments on creative writing. My ancestors had been involved in the Revolution and because there are few books like mine, I wanted to do that.” His organization has worked in more than 65 countries. In the foyer where we sat talking, me glancing down at the recorder, were leaflets detailing its work to counter river blindness in Guatemala, and against guinea worm disease in more than 20 African and Asian nations. The conversation progressed. The 39th president of the United States, elected in 1976 amid the chaotic aftermath of Watergate, and serving one term before being beaten in a landslide by Ronald Reagan, continued to make his points. He was aged 79 then, yet his grip on the material was clearly enormous and potent. Were there any lessons that could be drawn from the War of Independence for the present day, I asked. There were, said Carter. One was the need to keep and maintain allies. Had the US not secured the support of the French, the likes of George Washington might never have defeated the British army and won their independence. Did that relate to the current situation? “I think so. Most wars, certainly not all, could have been avoided,” he said. “There was no reason for us to become involved in Iraq last year. That was a war based on lies and misinterpretations from London and Washington, claiming falsely that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, claiming falsely that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.” I hoped my face did not change too obviously as I realised the man born in the village of Plains, and where he even to that day read sermons and teachings at the Maranatha Baptist Church, had just given me my story. My fingers scrambled to scribble down everything he said, and he continued. “President Bush and Prime Minister Blair probably knew that many of the allegations were based on uncertain intelligence and a decision was made to go to war [and then people said] ‘let’s find a reason to do so’,” he said. “Bush Jr was inclined to finish a war ... that his father had precipitated against Iraq. That commitment of Bush prevailed over the better judgment of Tony Blair, [who] became an enthusiastic supporter of the Bush policy.” Before I could press him further, Carter said we needed to get back to talking about his book. My heart was pounding, hoping that the tape captured everything. In the years that followed that conversation, the tone of U.S. politics in the U.S. has shifted inexorably. Donald Trump spoke in the most brutal terms of others who held the office, and he dragged the conversation down with him. While the likes of Barack Obama sought largely to avoid personal attacks, in the presidential election of 2020, things got pretty ugly. Yet, at the time of my interview with Carter, it was very rare for a president to speak in such terms of a successor. Two years earlier, when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in what was seen as a rebuke by the committee of U.S. plans for a yet-to-be-launched war, Carter declined to comment about Iraq. Later, Carter, the only U.S. president not to have officially sent forces into combat, with the exception of the failed mission in 1980 to try to rescue American hostages in Iran, would in turn speak darkly of the threat he believed Trump represented to the nation. He would also repeat his criticisms of the invasion of Iraq. Yet his comments to The Independent that morning were among his very first public remarks about the invasion of Iraq that would result in the deaths of thousands of American and British troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Two days later, his comments were carried on the front page of The Independent . Looking back, I realize Carter had said precisely as much as he wished to, and no more. It was not a question of someone being tricked into speaking out of turn. (Thankfully, every word was captured by the recorder, as well as my notes. When I got outside in the Atlanta sunshine, I pressed the device into my ear, checking twice that the conversation had been captured before, calling my editor and grabbing a taxi to the airport.) The former first lady, who had been married to Carter for over six decades, died at the family home in Plains, Georgia, in November 2023. Two months earlier, she and Carter had made a surprise appearance at the Peanut Festival in Plains, riding in an SUV and waving to the crowd. Carter, who described his late wife as “my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” entered hospice in February 2023. He marked his 100th birthday in October 2024, surrounded by his loved ones. My interview with the president in 2004 lasted more than half an hour. When it came to bid farewell, the president smiled: “I’ve enjoyed our conversation.”

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Over the past five years there have been 13 declared natural disaster catastrophes . Login or signup to continue reading The devastation caused to our communities by these terrible floods, storms, cyclones and bushfires strikes is just as hard on our small and family businesses. And already, we have seen and marvelled at communities already dealing with nature's fearsomeness so early in the season ... Businesses can be directly damaged or wiped-out, or they become an indirect victim surviving the disaster only to have no customers or no meaningful local economy to service because of the impact on their town or region. It is happening too often for small business to ignore. But only one in four small businesses have a current business continuity plan. It is time for small business to be prepared for natural disasters. Or to make this even more immediate, personal and necessary, another lens might be preparing for an awful event such as a critical health episode that might take the business owner or leader out of the business for a period of time. An inquiry I conducted into the impact of natural disasters on small businesses found that taking simple steps to be better prepared, sensible risk mitigation action and bolstering resilience can help reduce the impact of these extreme weather events (or some other critical event) and support small and family businesses to get back on their feet quicker. Just like the businesses they run, small business owners are the lifeblood of our communities. They are often community leaders too - the first to volunteer to lead and contribute to local emergency response and business support groups, giving generously of themselves to help make preparations for the community such as laying sandbags, fighting fires and moving stock and people to higher and safer ground. But often our business leaders are not as diligent in getting their own business as prepared as possible, so they can be best placed to navigate a critical event, respond and recover. That's where an up-to-date business continuity plan is important so owners can contemplate the things that might knock them off course, whether it is a natural disaster or something that might happen to them personally such as a health episode or accident, and reduce their capacity to contribute to their business and enable the livelihoods that they and their team rely upon. There are easy steps that can make so much difference if disaster strikes and help aid recovery. This can be as simple as ensuring your record keeping is up to date and that critical information is at hand and, where possible, digitised so you can retrieve it if your premises are destroyed. Small business owners can use the following checklist: The Small Business Natural Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Inquiry recommended the creation of an opt-in My Business Record to allow a small business to digitally store all relevant government-held and other vital information it might need after a disaster. It is clear from our work that preparation is key to small and family businesses building resilience and coming through natural disasters in the best possible shape. It is equally clear the small business community cannot do this on their own and when a natural disaster strikes, certainty of response and certainty of support must be provided. By this we mean small business owners should automatically be engaged in local place-based planning and support services and be elevated and front of mind in disaster response, recovery and funding arrangements. This must include indirectly affected businesses. Immediately after a disaster a business support hub should be established to provide a single point from which to seek help from government and non-government agencies. A tell-us-once triage system should be adopted to save small business owners the trauma and time associated with repeating their story. Ongoing support is needed in the aftermath of a disaster. When a small business receives an Australian government grant, an additional amount should be made available six to nine months later for a business health check and longer-term recovery action. Disasters can have long-lasting effects for communities and small businesses. An integrated response is needed to disaster risk management for identified disaster-prone areas that incorporates priority access to mitigation expenditure, co-ordinated planning across levels of government and infrastructure hardening. Critical road upgrades should require that verges are cleared sufficiently to allow access or evacuation. Similarly, where telecommunications infrastructure upgrades include taxpayer support, funding should be conditional on it being durable in the face of a natural disaster. An ongoing problem is that many small businesses in elevated disaster-risk area are often denied accessible and affordable insurance. Our inquiry found many businesses cannot secure appropriate insurance at an affordable price, some are uninsured or underinsured or have eyewatering excesses that would preclude any claim being made. The insurance sector needs to do better. READ MORE: Frustratingly, insurers seem uninterested in the steps individual small and family businesses take to mitigate disaster risk. Individual businesses do everything they can possibly do but it has zero impact on the availability and the pricing of their premiums. We're told this is because the insurance companies look at risk across a broader pool - it is community-wide or industry-wide or neighbourhood-wide analysis. Yet the narrative, amplified through advertising, is often about what individuals might do. Natural disasters can cause lasting harm to the enterprising people who build businesses, employ local community members, and create vitality in our towns and communities. I urge small and family businesses to have a plan and be ready. There are detailed checklists and resources to help small business prepare for a disaster and, if needed, to recover after one, available at www.asbfeo.gov.au/disaster-preparation DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. 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SAN DIEGO , Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CreateAI Holdings Inc., formerly TuSimple Holdings Inc. (OTCMKTS: TSPH) ("CreateAI" or the "Company"), a global artificial intelligence technology company, today announced shareholder voting results for its annual meeting of stockholders held on December 20, 2024 (the "Annual Meeting"). As of October 28, 2024 , the record date for the Annual Meeting, there were a total of 232,618,399 shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting, comprised of 208,618,399 shares of Class A Common Stock (each with one vote per share) and 24,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock (each with ten votes per share). At the Annual Meeting, holders of 207,347,538 shares of common stock, representing 423,347,538 votes, entitled to vote at the meeting were represented in person or by proxy and, therefore, a quorum constituted of the majority of the voting power of the shares of common stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting was present. The following is a brief description of each matter voted upon at the 2024 Annual Meeting and the numbers of votes cast for, withheld, or against, the number of abstentions, and the number of broker non-votes with respect to each other, as applicable. 1. Election of six nominees to serve on the Board of Directors (the "Board") for a term which will expire at the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders, or, if Proposal Two is adopted, to hold office until the annual meeting of stockholders in accordance with the class of director to which each nominee will be assigned. The following six directors were elected by the votes as indicated below. For Withheld Broker Non-Votes Cheng Lu 208,949,915 164,765,019 1 49,632,604 Mo Chen 208,946,146 164,768,788 1 49,632,604 James Lu 209,109,928 164,605,006 1 49,632,604 Zhen Tao 209,158,316 164,556,618 1 49,632,604 Albert Schultz 348,895,019 1 24,819,915 49,632,604 Jianan Hao 209,021,652 164,693,282 1 49,632,604 The totals above include the 240,000,000 votes represented by the Class B shares of Common Stock. 12,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock (representing 120,000,00 votes) were voted "FOR" and 12,000,000 shares of Class B Common stock (representing 120,000,00 votes) were voted "WITHHELD" for each of the Directors other than Albert Schultz . All shares of Class B Common Stock were voted "FOR" the election of Albert Schultz . Excluding the 240,000,000 votes from the 24,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock from the totals above, the 183,347,538 shares of Class A Common Stock were voted as indicated below. For Withheld Broker Non-Votes Cheng Lu 88,949,915 44,765,019 49,632,604 Mo Chen 88,946,146 44,768,788 49,632,604 James Lu 89,109,928 44,605,006 49,632,604 Zhen Tao 89,158,316 44,556,618 49,632,604 Albert Schultz 108,895,019 24,819,915 49,632,604 Jianan Hao 89,021,652 44,693,282 49,632,604 2. Amendment to the Company's Restated Certificate of Incorporation to classify the Board of Directors into three classes, with directors in each class to serve staggered three-year terms. Pursuant to the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, Proposal Two must receive the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of the capital stock of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, since directors representing two-thirds (2/3) of the total number of authorized directors have already approved. The amendment was not approved 2 by the votes as indicated below: For Against 1 Abstain Broker Non-Votes 208,955,668 164,659,652 99,614 49,632,604 Because Proposal Two was not approved, the six directors elected pursuant to Proposal One will serve on the Board for a term which will expire at the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders. 3. Ratification of the appointment of UHY LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 . The selection was ratified by the votes as indicated below: For Against 1 Abstain Broker Non-Votes 255,504,371 155,923,768 11,919,399 - Note 1: Includes 120,000,000 votes of the 12,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock held by White Marble LLC and White Marble International Limited (together, the "White Marble Entities") controlled by Dr. Xiaodi Hou . Note 2: The White Marble Entities have filed an action in the Delaware Court of Chancery seeking a declaratory judgment that the voting agreement between White Marble and Mo Chen is invalid and White Marble, not Mo Chen , controls the vote. White Marble LLC v. Chen , C.A. No. 2024-1208-PAF (Del. Ch.) On December 13, 2024 , the Court entered an order that allows the Company to hold the vote on Proposal Two, and ordered that if Proposal Two is not approved at the Annual Meeting but the Court determines in the Action that Mo Chen , not the White Marble Entities, control how the White Marble Entities' Shares are voted, then the White Marble Entities' shares shall be deemed to have been voted in favor of Proposal Two at the Annual Meeting and that such vote shall stand. The vote totals above include the votes of the shares held by the White Marble Entities as voted by the White Marble Entities. If the shares held by the White Marble entities reflected in the totals above are deemed to have been voted in favor of Proposal Two, the Proposal will have passed. Accordingly, if the Court rules in Mo Chen's favor, Proposal Two will be deemed to have passed and the Company would be permitted to amend its Certificate of Incorporation to implement Proposal Two and each of the directors elected pursuant to Proposal One will serve on the Board until the annual meeting of stockholders in accordance with the class of director to which each nominee is assigned. About CreateAI CreateAI (formerly TuSimple) is a global artificial intelligence company with offices in US, China , and Japan . The company is pioneering the future of digital entertainment content production, seamlessly blending cutting-edge generative AI technology with the creativity of world-class talent. Our mission is to redefine the boundaries of what's possible in digital storytelling by developing immersive, captivating, and visually stunning experiences that resonate with audiences on a global scale. Investor Relations Contact: ICR for CreateAI CreateAI.IR@icrinc.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/createai-announces-results-of-2024-annual-meeting-of-stockholders-302338618.html SOURCE CreateAI Holdings Inc