y747 My love of movie scoundrels has been sorely tested this year. When I was young, I daydreamed of exotic heists, slick con artists and lovable crooks I’d seen on screen. For most of my moviegoing life, I’ve been a sucker for larceny done well. Most of us are, probably. But now it’s late 2024. Mood is wrong. In the real world, in America, it’s scoundrel time all the time. Maybe Charles Dickens was right. In “American Notes for General Circulation” (1842), the English literary superstar chronicled his travels and detected a widespread, peculiarly American “love of ‘smart’ dealing” across the land. In business and in politics, Dickens observed, slavish admiration of the con men among them “gilds over many a swindle and gross breach of trust.” And here we are. It’ll pass, this scoundrel reprieve of mine. In fact it just did. All it took was thinking about the conspicuous, roguish outlier on my best-of-2024 list: “Challengers.” It’s what this year needed and didn’t know it: a tricky story of lying, duplicitous weasels on and off the court. The best films this year showed me things I hadn’t seen, following familiar character dynamics into fresh territory. Some were more visually distinctive than others; all made eloquent cases for how, and where, their stories unfolded. “All We Imagine as Light,” recently at the Gene Siskel Film Center, works like a poem, or a sustained exhalation of breath, in its simply designed narrative of three Mumbai hospital workers. Fluid, subtly political, filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s achievement is very nearly perfect. So is cowriter-director RaMell Ross’ adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel “The Nickel Boys,” arriving in Chicago-area theaters on Jan. 3, 2025. “Nickel Boys,” the film, loses the “the” in Whitehead’s title but gains an astonishingly realized visual perspective. If Ross never makes another movie, he’ll have an American masterpiece to his credit. The following top 10 movies of 2024 are in alphabetical order. “All We Imagine as Light” Both a mosaic of urban ebb and flow, and a delicate revelation of character, director and writer Payal Kapadia’s Mumbai story is hypnotic, patient and in its more traditional story progression, a second feature every bit as good as Kapadia’s first, 2021’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing.” “Anora” Mikey Madison gives one of the year’s funniest, saddest, truest performances as a Brooklyn exotic dancer who takes a shine to the gangly son of a Russian oligarch, and he to her. Their transactional courtship and dizzying Vegas marriage, followed by violently escalating complications, add up to filmmaker Sean Baker’s triumph, capped by an ending full of exquisite mysteries of the human heart. “The Brutalist” As played by Adrien Brody, the title character is a visionary architect and Hungarian Jewish emigre arriving in America in 1947 after the Holocaust. (That said, the title refers to more than one character.) His patron, and his nemesis, is the Philadelphia blueblood industrialist played by Guy Pearce. Director/co-writer Brady Corbet’s thrillingly ambitious epic, imperfect but loaded with rewarding risks, was shot mostly in widescreen VistaVision. Worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find. Opens in Chicago-area theaters on Jan. 10, 2025. “Challengers” Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor play games with each other, on the tennis court and in beds, while director Luca Guadagnino builds to a match-point climax that can’t possibly work, and doesn’t quite — but I saw the thing twice anyway. “Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World” In Bucharest, production assistant Angela zigzags around the city interviewing people for her employer’s workplace safety video. If that sounds less than promising, even for a deadpan Romanian slice-of-life tragicomedy, go ahead and make the mistake of skipping this one. llinca Manolache is terrific as Angela. “Green Border” Like “Do Not Expect Too Much,” director Agnieszka Holland’s harrowing slice of recent history was a 2023 release, making it to Chicago in early 2024. Set along the densely forested Poland/Belarus border, this is a model of well-dramatized fiction honoring what refugees have always known: the fully justified, ever-present fear of the unknown. “Janet Planet” A quiet marvel of a feature debut from writer-director Annie Baker, this is a mother/daughter tale rich in ambiguities and wry humor, set in a lovely, slightly forlorn corner of rural Massachusetts. Julianne Nicholson, never better; Zoe Ziegler as young, hawk-eyed Lacy, equally memorable. “My Old Ass” I love this year’s nicest surprise. The premise: A teenager’s future 39-year-old self appears to her, magically, via a strong dose of mushrooms. The surprise: Writer-director Megan Park gradually deepens her scenario and sticks a powerfully emotional landing. Wonderful work from Aubrey Plaza, Maisy Stella, Maria Dizzia and everybody, really. “Nickel Boys” From the horrific true story of a Florida reform school and its decades of abuse, neglect and enraging injustice toward its Black residents, novelist Colson Whitehead’s fictionalized novel makes a remarkable jump to the screen thanks to co-writer/director RaMell Ross’s feature debut. “A Real Pain” Cousins, not as close as they once were, reunite for a Holocaust heritage tour in Poland and their own search for their late grandmother’s childhood home. They’re the rootless Benji (Kieran Culkin) and tightly sprung David (Jesse Eisenberg, who wrote and directed). Small but very sure, this movie’s themes of genocidal trauma and Jewish legacy support the narrative every step of the way. Culkin is marvelous; so is the perpetually undervalued Eisenberg. To the above, I’ll add 10 more runners-up, again in alphabetical order: “Blink Twice,” directed by Zoe Kravitz. “Conclave,” directed by Edward Berger. “Dune: Part Two ,” directed by Denis Villeneuve. “Good One ,” directed by India Donaldson. “Hit Man,” directed by Richard Linklater. “Joker: Folie a Deux,” directed by Todd Phillips. “Nosferatu,” directed by Robert Eggers, opens in Chicago-area theaters on Dec. 25. “The Outrun,” directed by Nora Fingscheidt. “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat,” directed by Johan Grimonprez. “Tuesday,” directed by Daina O. Pusić. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.Just days after disgraced former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz celebrated the public assassination of a CEO, Vox Media announced she is out at the end of the year, reports the far-left Semafor. Earlier this year, Vox signed a deal to distribute Lorenz’s Power User podcast and YouTube program. This was in February, months before Lorenz parted ways with the Washington Post — seemingly for lying to her bosses about declaring Joe Biden a “war criminal” in some dumb meme. At the time, the far-left Axios described the podcast/YouTube deal as “a huge win for Vox Media, which is trying to become a top destination for premiere talent to partner on distribution, monetization and strategy for their podcasts.” I guess no one — including Axios, Semafor, or Vox — bothered to look at the number of actual views Lorenz’s average YouTube video earned... Most are less than five thousand. Of the most recent ten posted, only two exceeded five thousand views. Newsflash: other than the neurotic trainwreck that is her life, Taylor Lorenz is not an interesting person. She’s boring. She’s predictable. If she was capable of composure or self-respect, no one would know her name. Axios made it sound like Lorenz chose Vox — as in, Vox was lucky to get her business. “There’s a tremendous amount of support for my work at The Post, ” she told Axios, “but Vox Media has a robust infrastructure in place to support my ambitions for the show, including a top-tier slate of technology and business shows and scale across video platforms.” “Several of their other podcasts already publish across audio and video platforms, and I think my show will benefit from the cross-collaboration and cross-promotion within their tech and business podcast roster,” she added, and I’m assuming Axios edited out all the “likes” and “you knows” from this moron’s statement. So she chose Vox, and now Vox is dumping her. Ha ha. As I mentioned last week when Lorenz cheered the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson... The middle-aged Lorenz, who frequently crybabies about being harassed online, immediately used her Bluesky account to digitally jump for joy over the news. Worse, she then put targets on the backs of other healthcare company officials and CEOs. Which is exactly what she did over at Bluesky (aka “Twitter for Pussies”). And Bluesky is where the left goes to show who they really are. Bulwark editor Jonathan Last is an even more recent example. After the fallout hit, Lorenz only made things worse. Instead of apologizing, she went the gaslight route with this bullshit : Let me be super clear: my post uses a collective “we” and is explaining the public sentiment. It is not me personally saying “I want these executives dead and so we should kill them.” I am explaining that thousands of Americans (myself included) are fed up with our barbaric healthcare system and the people at the top who rake in millions while inflicting pain, suffering, and death on millions of innocent people. But-but-but I thought Obamacare cured the American healthcare system...? Well, apparently not, if we’re trying to explain why Americans want healthcare CEOs gunned down in public. According to the latest reports, the person currently in custody as a suspect for the CEO shooting is a leftist, a Taylor Lorenz fellow traveler. No surprise there. You know, if Vox Media were truly interested in turning down our country’s political temperature, they would announce that there is a zero-tolerance policy at their outlet for celebrating and/or encouraging murder or any kind of violence, and that’s why Lorenz was shown the door. FREE-FREE-FREE for the holidays: an autographed bookplate if you purchase John Nolte’s first and last novel, BORROWED TIME, between now and December 20. After you’ve made the purchase, email your request to JJMNOLTE at HOTMAIL dot COM with an address and any personalization requests. For example, something like; “To Rachel Levine: The sexiest man alive.” Borrowed Time , is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here . Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook .

It has taken new Michigan coach Dusty May just nine games to guide the Wolverines into the Top 25. May and the Wolverines enter the poll at No. 14 and strive to continue their strong start when they face Arkansas in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night in New York. Michigan (8-1) has reeled off seven straight wins to crack the rankings for the first time in nearly 25 months. "All this stuff doesn't matter to me," May said of the rankings. "It does change the complexion of what we think about and things like that. Overall, I like where we are. We have guys who work well together and they put in the time." The Wolverines look to remain hot against the Razorbacks (7-2). John Calipari's first Arkansas squad has won its past two games. Calipari spent the previous 15 seasons as coach of Kentucky and claims he's excited to be in Arkansas. "I'm not bitter about anything. I'm not," Calipari said. "This is the first page of the first chapter of a new book. The timing for me and my career and my life, this is perfect. And I appreciate the fans and everybody giving me the opportunity to do that." The Razorbacks will be searching for their initial milestone victory under Calipari during their first visit to Madison Square Garden since 1997. Their losses this season are to then-No. 8 Baylor and Illinois on neutral courts. Calipari grabbed several players out of the transfer portal in the offseason, including guard Johnell Davis, one of the stars of the Florida Atlantic team that reached the 2023 Final Four. That squad was coached by May. One of the other Florida Atlantic starters was center Vladislav Goldin, who followed May to Michigan after the coach was hired in the offseason. Goldin has strung together three straight solid games, including a season-best 24 points in a 67-64 road win over then-No. 11 Wisconsin on Dec. 3. He followed that up with 20 points and a season-high 11 rebounds in Saturday's 85-83 home win over Iowa. "He's just been a guy that you can see when he's really locked in and focused there's a different level of play," said May, "and I think now he's finding that level of play." Goldin is part of a balanced attack. Roddy Gayle Jr. averages a team-best 12.2 points per game, followed by Tre Donaldson and Danny Wolf at 12.1 and Goldin at 12.0. Wolf averages a team-best 10 rebounds per game. Arkansas is coming off a 75-60 home victory over UTSA on Saturday. Adou Thiero excelled by matching his career high of 26 points to go with 10 rebounds. Thiero scored 17 points in the second half when the Razorbacks overcame a five-point halftime deficit to outscore the Roadrunners by 20. "We've been seeing that the whole summer," Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile said of Thiero's strong play. "Him dominating. Dominating in practice and (Calipari) pushing him. This is just a reflection of the work he's done this summer and him trusting the coaches." Thiero leads the Razorbacks with averages of 18.6 points and 6.1 rebounds. Boogie Fland is averaging 15 points and Zvonimir Ivisic is scoring 12 per game. Davis (9.3) started slow with just two double-digit outings in the first seven games before averaging 12.5 over the last two games. Michigan holds a 4-3 edge in the all-time series. The Wolverines recorded an 80-67 home victory on Dec. 8, 2012 in the most recent meeting. --Field Level MediaMead football has put on a defensive masterclass this season, and its efforts have kept it nearly undefeated leading into the Class 3A state semifinals. Its only blemish came during the last week of the regular season against Windsor, which Pomona defeated just last week. Now, the second-seeded Mavericks will face off with No. 3 Pomona for a shot at the state championship. The last time they made an appearance in the title game, in 2021, they lost to Fort Morgan. Now, they have a shot at redemption, but the road won’t be easy. Game details: Saturday, 1 p.m., at Mead High School How Mead can win: Defense, defense, defense. The Mavericks have already shown that they can keep opposing offenses off of the field, and never gave up more than 15 points in a contest before last week’s 34-23 win over No. 7 Pueblo Central. That will be key against a Pomona team that knows how to put up big numbers. How Pomona can win: Keep Mead guessing. The Panthers have proven they can run and throw the ball well, having amassed 2,641 rushing yards and 1,331 passing yards between their two quarterbacks, Tucker Ingersoll and Emmitt Munson. While Munson holds most of the rushing yards with 1,072, he’s far from the only player who can pick up significant yardage. Matchup to watch: Munson vs. Mead’s defense. Last week, the Mavericks held an offensive juggernaut for Pueblo Central, Amari Brown, to just 136 rushing yards. By taking him out of the equation, the Mavericks cruised to victory. They’ll need to do the same for Munson, whether he’s in the pocket or not. To date, Mead has picked up 30.5 sacks and 772 tackles. View a list of Prep sports and high school teams we cover.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The largest artificial intelligence data centre ever built by Facebook’s parent company Meta is coming to northeast Louisiana, the company said on Wednesday, bringing hopes that the USD10 billion facility will transform an economically neglected corner of the state. Republican Governor Jeff Landry called it “game-changing” for his state’s expanding tech sector, yet some environmental groups have raised concerns over the center’s reliance on fossil fuels – and whether the plans for new natural gas power to support it could lead to higher energy bills in the future for Louisiana residents. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, is expanding its existing supercomputer project in Memphis, Tennessee, the city’s chamber of commerce said on Wednesday. The chamber also said that Nvidia, Dell, and Supermicro Computer will be “establishing operations in Memphis,” without offering further details. Louisiana is among a growing number of states offering tax credits and other incentives to lure big tech firms seeking sites for energy-intensive data centres. The United States (US) Commerce Department found that there aren’t enough data centres in the US to meet the rising AI-fuelled demand, which is projected to grow by nine per cent each year through 2030, citing industry reports. Meta anticipates its Louisiana data centre will create 500 operational jobs and 5,000 temporary construction jobs, said director of data centre strategy Kevin Janda. At four million square feet, it will be the company’s largest AI data centre to date, he added. “We want to make sure we are having a positive impact on the local level,” Janda said. Congressional leaders and local representatives from across the political spectrum heralded the Meta facility as a boon for Richland parish, a rural part of Louisiana with a population of 20,000 historically reliant on agriculture. About one in four residents are considered to live in poverty and the parish has an employment rate below 50 per cent, according to the US census data. Meta plans to invest USD200 million into road and water infrastructure improvements for the parish to offset its water usage. The facility is expected to be completed in 2030. Entergy, one of the nation’s largest utility providers, is fast-tracking plans to build three natural gas power plants in Louisiana capable of generating 2,262 megawatts for Meta’s data centre over a 15-year period – nearly one-tenth of Entergy’s existing energy capacity across four states. The Louisiana Public Service Commission is weighing Entergy’s proposal as some environmental groups have opposed locking the state into more fossil fuel-based energy infrastructure. Meta said it plans to help bring 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy onto the grid in the future. Louisiana residents may ultimately end up with rate increases to pay off the cost of operating these natural gas power plants when Meta’s contract with Entergy expires, said state policy director Jessica Hendricks for the Alliance for Affordable Energy, a Louisiana-based non-profit advocating for energy consumers. “There’s no reason why residential customers in Louisiana need to pay for a power plant for energy that they’re not going to use,” Hendricks said. “And we want to make sure that there’s safeguards in place.”By Ross Cristantiello Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson returned to work Monday, three days after she was arrested on public corruption charges by federal authorities. The embattled councilor led a hearing on how to redress historic racial harms , ignoring calls for her resignation . At the same time, potential challengers for Fernandes Anderson’s seat are ramping up their campaigns. Fernandes Anderson appeared virtually in her role as chair of the Committee on Civil Rights, Racial Equity, and Immigrant Advancement. Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn, who both urged Fernandes Anderson to resign after she was arrested, participated in the hearing. There was no mention of Fernandes Anderson’s arrest or the charges against her during the meeting. Murphy thanked her for “gathering” the attendees and advocating for her district. Fernandes Anderson represents District 7, which includes Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and part of the South End. Prosecutors say she orchestrated a kickback scheme involving a family member who was also hired as a staffer within her office. Fernandes Anderson did not disclose that this staffer was a family member, but issued them a $13,000 bonus with the agreement that $7,000 would be secretly handed back to the councilor, who was struggling financially in early 2023. The handoff of that cash payment occurred in a City Hall bathroom last year, according to federal authorities. She briefly appeared in federal court Friday, entering a not guilty plea before being released on conditions that include regular reporting to probation officials, staying in Massachusetts, surrendering her passport, and staying away from any witnesses. News broke early last week that Fernandes Anderson was being investigated by federal law enforcement, but the specifics were not made public until Friday. She appeared at a City Council hearing last week before being arrested, telling reporters that she had no plans to resign . Over the weekend, Fernandes Anderson continued to post on social media about regular council business. She has limited which Facebook users can comment on these posts. Mayor Michelle Wu, Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, Councilor Sharon Durkan, and Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata have all called for Fernandes Anderson’s resignation, alongside Murphy and Flynn. The full City Council is scheduled to meet in person on Wednesday. Fernandes Anderson was initially elected in 2021, and won reelection last year. She is up for reelection again next year, and already appears to have a few challengers. Said Ahmed , a track coach who cofounded the Boston United Track and Cross Country Club, a free youth track program, announced his intent to run for City Council on Dec. 4. Ahmed, who also ran track professionally and worked within Boston Public Schools, wrote about his desire to take “bold action” in a series of social media posts. “I’ve dedicated my life to empowering Boston’s youth. My work in education and athletics has always been about creating opportunities, and I believe we can transform our schools and neighborhoods to support every student and family,” he wrote. Ahmed filed paperwork with the state in October about running for City Council, but did not begin publicizing his campaign until last week. This delay was to solidify his platform and perfect his website and was unrelated to the scandal involving Fernandes Anderson, Ahmed told the Boston Herald . The other candidate is Said Abdikarim, The Dorchester Reporter reported in October. Abdikarim volunteered to work on the campaigns of former District 7 Councilor Tito Jackson, Mayor Wu, the late Mayor Tom Menino, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley. Abdikarim has worked at the at the nonprofit African Community Economic Development of New England, and the Islamic Society of Boston, per the Reporter . He ran for an at-large City Council seat in 2021. Ross Cristantiello Ross Cristantiello, a general assignment news reporter for Boston.com since 2022, covers local politics, crime, the environment, and more. Boston.com Today Sign up to receive the latest headlines in your inbox each morning. Be civil. Be kind.

Inventus Mining Commences 80-Hole Drill Program at Pardo Receives OJEP Funding Support and ...

Features AutoScheduler CTO and Former Dean of Business School at the University of Arkansas AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AutoScheduler.AI , an innovative Warehouse Orchestration Platform and WMS accelerator, announces that the Supply Chain Network Summit is hosting a webinar featuring AutoScheduler.AI on "Transforming Warehouse Management with Control Towers, Digital Twins, and AI,” which will take place on December 10, 2024, at 10:00 AM CT. AutoScheduler.AI's Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Gibson, and Dr. Matt Waller, renowned supply chain expert and former Dean of the Business School at the University of Arkansas, will lead the free discussion. "Traditional warehouse management methods can no longer keep up with today's fast-paced supply chain demands,” says Keith Moore, CEO of AutoScheduler.AI. "Businesses must embrace cutting-edge technologies that drive operational excellence to succeed and thrive in this dynamic marketplace.” The free webinar on December 10, 2024, will explore: About AutoScheduler.AI AutoScheduler.AI empowers you to take full control of your warehouse with a cloud-based solution that seamlessly integrates with your existing WMS/LMS/YMS or any other solution. We automate critical tasks like labor scheduling, dock management, and task sequencing, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. You've already invested in the software to run your warehouse-what we do is provide the orchestration layer that ties it all together to make real-time data-driven decisions. With AutoScheduler.AI, you get smart orchestration for a smarter, more agile warehouse. Reach out to us at [email protected] for more information. Contact: Becky Boyd MediaFirst PR [email protected] Cell: (404) 421-8497

None'All I Want For Christmas is You' is having another record-setting year on Billboard chartsNone