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i love ph Australian sailor Matt Wearn will ponder his Olympic future during a 12-month spell from his dual gold-medal winning class. Wearn was Australia’s joint flag bearer at the closing ceremony of this year’s Paris Games after becoming the first man to successfully defend an Olympic dinghy title. But the 29-year-old is taking time away from the dinghy while deciding if he has motivation to return to the class for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Wearn will pursue professional opportunities and other aspects of the sport in a plan supported by his coach Rafa Trujillo. “Rafa and I discussed the plan before the (Paris) Games as we felt it was critical to the lead-in,” Wearn said. “We decided it was important to take at least 12 months away from the ILCA (dinghy). “This time will allow me to explore different aspects of sailing, delve into the professional side of the sport and figure out if the drive and hunger for LA are still there.” Wearn’s Paris Olympic triumph in the dinghy, previously known as the laser class, followed recovery from a bad bout of long COVID-19 two years ago. The illness was combined with the shorter three-year turnaround between his gold medal win at the Tokyo Olympics of 2021 and the Paris Games. “With everything compressed into the three years between Tokyo and Paris, I haven’t had proper time off in a while,” he said. “It has been tough but having a holiday with my wife Emma and just stepping away to let everything sink in has been super nice. “At times it still hits me, especially when people introduce me at events now as a two-time Olympic gold medallist. “It sort of gives me goosebumps and makes me realise what I’ve achieved.” Wearn, who recently was inducted into the Australian sailing Hall of Fame and also nominated for the world sailor of the year, will dabble with other sailing disciplines. “I’m getting into foiling ... and continuing to get out on the wing foil, I can stay out for half an hour or three hours, that’s the nice bit at the moment, just enjoying it and learning something new,” he said. “Obviously, coming from the ILCA I don’t have too much exposure to foiling and that’s the way the sport is going. It has been that steep learning curve and I’m enjoying that challenge. “I’m also teaming up with John Bertrand for the Etchell Worlds in January (in Melbourne) which could be a stepping stone into professional sailing overseas such as TP52 or RC44 racing. “Enjoying being a normal person over the Christmas period with family, not having a jet off to events. “(I am) going to take it easy and enjoy being at home for once in summer, which will be a refreshing change from the usual hectic schedule.”Across Nigeria today, solar power systems are gradually becoming a major consideration for reliable and cost-effective energy solutions for residential and commercial energy users. Recently, the question for many customers has not been whether to invest in solar energy but how to integrate it smoothly with existing power supply systems to maximize performance. With a solid understanding of the technical and practical considerations, integrating your solar system with an existing power infrastructure can be straightforward. This piece will explain how Nigerian households and businesses can seamlessly adopt solar power systems without disrupting their current energy systems. We will outline the ABC of integrating distributed solar solutions with existing power configurations. A – Assess your energy sources and demands The starting point of a successful solar integration project is a comprehensive assessment of your current power sources, energy consumption, and possible expansion. During this assessment, you must evaluate your typical daily peak energy demand periods (when you use the most energy) and note sensitive appliances with particular energy demands. This process requires you to conduct an energy audit or engage an expert to assess your energy usage patterns and calculate your baseline requirements. Energy need assessment is very useful for businesses whose energy usage fluctuates due to operational hours, special equipment, and seasonal activities. For homes, the key to assessing energy consumption is to study whether your energy demand peaks in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Once you understand your energy needs and pattern, you need to examine your existing power setup and the intended energy mix. Determine if you want a power configuration that only includes a solar system and national grid or if you want to add a generator to the mix. The goal is to configure the operations and output of the energy sources to align with your needs and cost-saving objectives. For instance, a business with intensive daytime energy demand relying on solar and generators could schedule solar systems to handle the heavy daytime loads to reduce energy expenses. In another instance, households combining solar and unstable grid electricity could schedule the grid as the primary power source when it’s available while the solar system kicks in as a backup when the grid goes off, ensuring uninterrupted supply and longer backup time. B – Balance the solar components with existing sources When integrating solar systems, finding the right hybrid inverter technology to properly synchronize the solar system output with the grid supply without disrupting your operations is crucial. Unlike common off-grid inverters used in standalone solar setups, hybrid inverters like Arnergy’s are universally compatible and specially built to manage grid-tied systems. In an integrated power system, hybrid inverters seamlessly coordinate solar energy with existing power sources by automatically switching between solar, grid, and other sources according to availability and load demands. For example, when grid power is present, hybrid inverters can enhance it with solar energy, while in the absence of grid power, they can instantly transition to solar and battery backup to maintain continuous power supply. In addition to the hybrid inverters, suitable battery storage options are also essential, especially in Nigeria, where power outages are frequent and unpredictable. The battery energy storage system (BESS) in a solar system acts as a reservoir storing excess solar energy for use during power outages and low sunlight periods. Lead-acid and lithium-based batteries are the most common battery technologies in Nigeria. While conventional lead-acid batteries are relatively cheaper and widespread, lithium batteries (Lithium-Ion or LiFePO4) offer better usage performance, extended lifespan, and higher efficiency, making them the smarter investment for users seeking long-term reliability and maintenance-free performance. C – Control energy distribution to maximise efficiency A core requirement for an integrated power infrastructure is setting up an intelligent energy management system (EMS) that knows when to assign and shift loads from either solar system, grid power, generator, or backup battery based on real-time energy demands and availability. Controlling your energy distribution intelligently maximizes system performance, reduces dependency on traditional sources, and increases cost savings. An intelligent energy management system (EMS) with real-time monitoring features is essential to your solar system integration. The modern EMS lets you define energy usage preferences and manage loads from a centralised digital interface. For example, when the day is sunny, an EMS can prioritise solar powering high-demand appliances while storing the surplus energy in the battery, and at night, the EMS can automatically switch the appliances to the battery or draw power from other sources. Users can also significantly reduce energy costs by adopting time-based load management strategies. For businesses, this involves aligning solar power usage with peak operating hours to power high-demand activities with solar rather than the grid or generator. A similar practice can be adopted in homes, scheduling solar for powering high-demand appliances like ACs, water heaters, and washing machines when the day is sunny and relying on the battery storage and grid at night. Overcoming the Challenges of Solar Integration Integrating solar with existing power infrastructure comes with its challenges, from upfront costs, complex installations, and load balancing to managing multiple energy priorities. However, reduced energy bills, improved power reliability, lower carbon footprint, and other long-term benefits far outweigh these challenges. Embracing solar is an effective way to secure energy stability and save significant energy expenses. This ABC solar integration guide prepares consumers for technical success and the seamless adoption of sustainable energy solutions to achieve energy sufficiency, maximize financial gains, and preserve the environment. Adopting a step-by-step, data-driven approach to solar integration can ease the process and deliver more benefits for households and businesses. As Nigeria’s energy market evolves, budget-friendly solar acquisition models like Arnergy’s Zero-Down Payment Solar Ownership Plan will become even more accessible, helping users overcome the high upfront costs of solar systems. .Idris writes from Abuja

Powell Industries VP Mauney sells $284,161 in stockWill Kamala Harris run for California governor in 2026? The question is already swirling

Capgemini, Confluent, IBM, QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and Unstructured join the MongoDB AI Applications Program (MAAP) ecosystem to help organizations make an impact with AI MongoDB, Meta collaborating to support developers with Meta models and the end-to-end MAAP technology stack Leading autism and intellectual and developmental disability software provider CentralReach using MAAP to improve AI-powered care platform MAAP expansion follows the introduction of vector quantization to MongoDB Atlas Vector Search and recent AI partner integrations LAS VEGAS, Dec. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB) today at AWS re:Invent announced that a new cohort of organizations have joined the MongoDB AI Applications Program (MAAP) ecosystem of leading AI and tech companies. By lending their experience and expertise to MAAP, Capgemini, Confluent, IBM, QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and Unstructured will offer customers additional integration and solution options, boosting the value customers receive from MAAP. Since it was launched earlier this year, MAAP has already made an impact, helping customers like CentralReach—which provides an AI-powered autism care and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) platform—innovate with AI. The MAAP Center of Excellence Team, a cross-functional group of AI experts at MongoDB, has collaborated with partners and customers across industries to overcome an array of technical challenges, empowering organizations of all sizes to build and deploy AI applications. The expansion of the MongoDB AI Applications Program follows the introduction of vector quantization to MongoDB Atlas Vector Search (which reduces vector sizes while preserving performance—at lower cost), as well as new integrations with leading AI and technology companies. MongoDB is also collaborating with Meta on Llama to support developers in their efforts to build more efficiently and to best serve customers. Currently, both enterprise and public sector customers are leveraging Llama and MongoDB to build innovative, AI-enriched applications, accelerating progress toward business goals. In the coming months, MongoDB plans to implement turnkey mapping from its database to the LlamaStack APIs, empowering developers to deliver solutions to market more quickly and efficiently. "At the beginning of 2024, many organizations saw the immense potential of generative AI, but were struggling to take advantage of this new, rapidly evolving technology. And 2025 is sure to bring more change—and further innovation," said Greg Maxson, Senior Director of AI GTM and Strategic Partnerships at MongoDB. "The aim of MAAP, and of MongoDB's collaborations with industry leaders like Meta, is to empower customers to use their data to build custom AI applications in a scalable, cost-effective way. By joining the MAAP partner network, Capgemini, Confluent, IBM, QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and Unstructured are helping the program evolve to meet the ever-changing AI landscape, and offering customers an array of leading solutions." Launched in the summer of 2024—with founding members Accenture, Anthropic, Anyscale, Arcee AI, AWS, Cohere, Credal, Fireworks AI, Google Cloud, gravity9, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Microsoft Azure, Nomic, PeerIslands, Pureinsights, and Together AI—the MongoDB AI Applications Program is designed to help organizations unleash the power of their data and to take advantage of rapidly advancing AI technologies. It offers customers an array of resources to put AI applications into production: reference architectures and an end-to-end technology stack that includes integrations with leading technology providers, professional services, and a unified support system to help customers quickly build and deploy AI applications. Because the AI landscape and customer expectations of AI continue to evolve, MongoDB has carefully grown the MAAP program—and the MAAP ecosystem of companies—to best meet customer needs. By working with AI industry leaders, MongoDB has gained a unique understanding of both the technology and implementation partners that can best help customers build AI applications, and has built the MAAP partner network accordingly. New MAAP partners look forward to helping customers build AI applications A global consulting and technology services company, Capgemini offers integrated solutions for digital transformation, blending expertise with breakthrough technology. Confluent , meanwhile, is a cloud-native data streaming platform that allows users to stream, connect, process, and govern data in real time. "Business leaders are increasingly recognizing generative AI's value as an accelerator for driving innovation and revenue growth. But the real opportunity lies in moving from ambition to action at scale. We are pleased to continue working with MongoDB to help deliver tangible value to clients and drive competitive advantage by leveraging a trustworthy data foundation, thereby enabling gen AI at scale," said Niraj Parihar, CEO of Insights & Data Global Business Line and Member of the Group Executive Committee at Capgemini. "MAAP helps clients build gen AI strategy, identify key use cases, and bring solutions to life, and we look forward to being a key part of this for many organizations." "Enterprise AI strategy is inextricably dependent upon fresh, trusted data about the business. Without real-time datasets, even the most advanced AI solutions will fail to deliver value," said Shaun Clowes, Chief Product Officer at Confluent. "Seamlessly integrated with MongoDB and Atlas Vector Search, Confluent's fully managed data streaming platform enables businesses to build the trusted, always-up-to-date data foundation essential for powering gen AI applications." Unstructured is the leading provider of ETL for LLMs, making it easy for enterprises to utilize their unstructured data with gen AI systems. "Like MongoDB, we understand that data is essential to harnessing the power of gen AI," said Brian Raymond, Founder and CEO of Unstructured. "We are excited to join the MongoDB AI Applications Program to bring our expertise in ingesting and preprocessing complex unstructured data for vector databases. The gen AI-ready data we continuously deliver and write to vector databases like MongoDB is essential to enabling our users to counter hallucinations, allowing the LLMs and AI projects that MAAP customers are working on to leverage sensitive, internal data while keeping models and projects up-to-date." Collaborating to make an impact with AI Providing customers direct support from technical subject matter experts has been integral to MAAP's success. Since the program's inception, the MAAP Center of Excellence team—highly skilled AI experts from MAAP partners and groups across MongoDB—has worked with more than 150 organizations on a range of technical challenges, including model and technology stack evaluation, chunking strategies, advanced retrieval techniques, and the establishment of agentic workflows. Example projects include working on sound diagnostic-based maintenance recommendations for a large manufacturer, and customer service automations for companies across industries. A recent example of how MAAP enables organizations to build with AI is IndiaDataHub, which is on a mission to build India's largest market data and analytics platform. Since the company's founding, MongoDB Atlas has been the platform's operational database for some of its key datasets, and earlier this year, IndiaDataHub joined MAAP to access AI expertise, in-depth support, and a full spectrum of technologies to enhance AI functionality within its analytics platform. This includes connecting relevant data in MongoDB with Meta's AI models to perform sentiment analysis on text datasets. "Data is the oil that will fuel the growth of the modern Indian economy," said Pranoti Deshmukh, Chief Technology Officer at IndiaDataHub. "Working with MongoDB, the MAAP ecosystem, and Meta's AI tools, we've been able to accelerate our AI strategy to make high-quality, timely data and analytics available to everyone in India who needs it. The professional support and deep AI expertise we've received through the MAAP program have been outstanding." "We are thrilled to see how many enterprises are leveraging our open source AI models to build better solutions for their customers and solve the problems their teams are facing everyday," said Ragavan Srinivasan, VP of Product at Meta. "Leveraging our family of Meta models and the end-to-end technology stack offered by the MongoDB AI Applications Program demonstrates the incredible power of open source to drive innovation and collaboration across the industry." Another success story is CentralReach , which provides an AI-powered electronic medical record (EMR) platform that is designed to improve outcomes for children and adults diagnosed with autism and related intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Prior to working with MongoDB and MAAP, CentralReach was looking for an experienced partner to further connect and aggregate its more than 4 billion financial and clinical data points across its suite of solutions. CentralReach leveraged MongoDB's document model to aggregate the company's diverse forms of information from assessments to clinical data collection, so the company could build rich AI-assisted solutions on top of its database. Meanwhile, MAAP partners helped CentralReach to design and optimize multiple layers of its comprehensive buildout. All of this will enable CentralReach to support initiatives such as value-based outcome measurement, clinical supervision, and care delivery efficacy. With these new data layers in place, providers will be able to make substantial improvements to their clinical delivery to optimize care for all those they serve. "As a mission-driven organization, CentralReach is always looking to innovate on behalf of the clinical professionals—and the more than 350,000 autism and IDD learners—that we serve globally," said Chris Sullens, CEO of CentralReach. "So being able to lean on MongoDBs database technology and draw on the collective expertise of the MAAP partner network—in addition to MongoDB's tech expertise and services—to help us improve outcomes for our customers and their clients worldwide has been invaluable." The expansion of the MongoDB AI Applications Program builds on recent AI-related announcements from MongoDB. In October, MongoDB announced vector quantization capabilities in MongoDB Atlas Vector Search. By reducing vector storage and memory requirements while preserving performance, these capabilities empower developers to build AI-enriched applications with more scale—and at a lower cost. Outside of MAAP, since the start of the year MongoDB has built partnerships with more than 40 leading AI companies, enabling additional flexibility and choice for customers. Recent collaborations include those with Astronomer, Arize AI, Baseten, CloudZero, Modal, and ObjectBox. By working closely with its AI partners on product launches, integrations, and real-world challenges, MongoDB is able to bring a better understanding of AI to joint customers, deliver interoperability for end-to-end workflows, and to give them the resources and confidence they need to move forward with this groundbreaking technology. To learn more about building AI-powered apps with MongoDB, please see our library of articles, tutorials, analyst reports, and white papers . And for more on the MongoDB AI Applications program, see the MAAP webpage . About MongoDB Headquartered in New York, MongoDB's mission is to empower innovators to create, transform, and disrupt industries by unleashing the power of software and data. Built by developers, for developers, MongoDB's developer data platform is a database with an integrated set of related services that allow development teams to address the growing requirements for a wide variety of applications, all in a unified and consistent user experience. MongoDB has more than 50,000 customers in over 100 countries. The MongoDB database platform has been downloaded hundreds of millions of times since 2007, and there have been millions of builders trained through MongoDB University courses. To learn more, visit mongodb.com . Forward-looking Statements This press release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements concerning MongoDB's new capabilities with Google Cloud. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts and statements identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "will," "would" or the negative or plural of these words or similar expressions or variations. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and are subject to a variety of assumptions, uncertainties, risks and factors that are beyond our control including, without limitation: the effects of the ongoing military conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas on our business and future operating results; economic downturns and/or the effects of rising interest rates, inflation and volatility in the global economy and financial markets on our business and future operating results; our potential failure to meet publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business and future operating results; our limited operating history; our history of losses; failure of our platform to satisfy customer demands; the effects of increased competition; our investments in new products and our ability to introduce new features, services or enhancements; our ability to effectively expand our sales and marketing organization; our ability to continue to build and maintain credibility with the developer community; our ability to add new customers or increase sales to our existing customers; our ability to maintain, protect, enforce and enhance our intellectual property; the effects of social, ethical and regulatory issues relating to the use of new and evolving technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in our offerings or partnerships; the growth and expansion of the market for database products and our ability to penetrate that market; our ability to integrate acquired businesses and technologies successfully or achieve the expected benefits of such acquisitions; our ability to maintain the security of our software and adequately address privacy concerns; our ability to manage our growth effectively and successfully recruit and retain additional highly-qualified personnel; and the price volatility of our common stock. These and other risks and uncertainties are more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2024, filed with the SEC on May 31, 2024, and other filings and reports that we may file from time to time with the SEC. Except as required by law, we undertake no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events, changes in expectations or otherwise. Investor Relations Brian Denyeau ICR for MongoDB 646-277-1251 ir@mongodb.com Media Relations MongoDB press@mongodb.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mongodb-announces-expansion-of-the-mongodb-ai-applications-program-302319439.html SOURCE MongoDB, Inc. Copyright © 2024 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A white ex-police detective in Kansas died Monday in an apparent suicide just before the start of his criminal trial over allegations that he sexually assaulted Black women and terrorized those who tried fight back. Local police found Roger Golubski dead of a gunshot wound on the back porch of his split-level home outside Kansas City, Kansas. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said “there are no indications of foul play" in the 71-year-old's death, discovered Monday morning after a neighbor heard a gunshot. Fifty miles (80 kilometers) to the west, prosecutors and Golubski's attorneys were inside the federal courthouse in Topeka, where Golubski faced six felony counts of violating women's civil rights. Prosecutors say that, for years, Golubski preyed on female residents in poor neighborhoods, demanding sexual favors and sometimes threatening to harm or jail their relatives if they refused. He had pleaded not guilty. His death led U.S. District Judge Toby Crouse to dismiss the charges at prosecutors' request, though a second criminal case involving three other co-defendants remains. U.S. Department of Justice officials said it's “difficult” when a case cannot “be fully and fairly heard in a public trial,” but advocates for the women who accused Golubski of abusing them were angry, feeling that they and the community were denied a reckoning. “There is no justice for the victims,” said Anita Randle-Stanley, who went to court to watch jury selection. Randle-Stanley, who is not a victim in this case, said Golubski began harassing her when she was a teenager decades ago, but she always refused him. The heart of this trial focused on two women: one who said Golubski began sexually abusing her when she was a young teen in middle school, and another who said he began abusing her after her twin sons were arrested. Prosecutors said seven other women were planning to testify that Golubski abused or harassed them as well. And advocates for the women believe there are other victims who have either died or have been afraid to come forward. The allegations that Golubski preyed on women over decades with seeming impunity outraged the community and deepened its historical distrust of law enforcement. The prosecution followed earlier reports of similar abuse allegations across the country where hundreds of officers have lost their badges after allegations of sexual assaults. Some of the women and their advocates were upset that Golubski was under house arrest while he underwent kidney dialysis treatments three times a week. Cheryl Pilate, an attorney representing some of the women, said she has questions about how well the government was monitoring Golubski. “The community had an enormous interest in seeing this trial go forward,” she added. “Now, the victims, the community and justice itself have been cheated.” After Golubski failed to appear in court Monday, his lead attorney, Christopher Joseph, said his client “was despondent about the media coverage.” Joseph said he had talked to Golubski regularly, including Monday morning, and he was shocked to hear that his client had apparently killed himself. As for Golubski’s death, he said, “I don’t know the details.” This case against Golubski was part of a string of lawsuits and criminal allegations that led the county prosecutor’s office to begin a $1.7 million effort to reexamine cases Golubski worked on during his 35 years on the force. One double murder case Golubski investigated already has resulted in an exoneration , and an organization run by rapper Jay-Z is suing to obtain police records. Joseph had said lawsuits over the allegations were an “inspiration for fabrication” by his accusers. “We have to keep fighting,” said Starr Cooper, who was in the courthouse Monday to watch jury selection and said Golubski victimized her mother before her death in 1983. About 50 people had a short rally Monday morning in sub-freezing temperatures outside the federal courthouse in Topeka to show their support for the women accusing Golubski. They held signs with slogans such as, “Justice Now!” Lora McDonald, executive director of MORE2, a Kansas City-area social justice group, said participants learned that Golubski didn’t show up in court just as the rally began. They dispersed before prosecutors announced his death. They later joined Pilate in calling for an independent, outside investigation into Golubski's death. “Golubski terrorized an entire community and co-conspired with dangerous people,” McDonald said. “Our rally today was not just about Roger Golubski. Rather, it was about the department in which his criminal activity flourished." Pilate lamented that without a trial for Golubski, "In the eyes of the law he died an innocent man.” Max Seifert, a former Kansas City police officer who graduated from the police academy with Golubski in 1975, said Golubski's supporters will treat him as a martyred victim of unfair pretrial publicity. He contends the department condoned misconduct. “I feel that there is always going to be a cloud of mystery about this,” he added. Stories about Golubski remained just whispers in the neighborhoods near Kansas City’s former cattle stockyards partly because of the extreme poverty of a place where crime was abundant and some homes are boarded up. One neighborhood where Golubski worked is part of Kansas’ second-poorest zip code. Fellow officers once revered Golubski for his ability to clear cases, and he rose to the rank of captain in Kansas City before retiring there in 2010 and then working on a suburban police force for six more years. His former partner served a stint as police chief. The inquiry into Golubski stems from the case of Lamonte McIntyre, who started writing to McCloskey’s nonprofit nearly two decades ago. McIntyre was just 17 in 1994 when he was arrested and charged in connection with a double homicide, within hours of the crimes. He had an alibi; no physical evidence linked him to the killings; and an eyewitness believed the killer was an underling of a local drug dealer. In the other federal criminal case involving Golubski, that drug dealer also was charged with him, accused of running a violent sex trafficking operation. McIntyre's mother said in a 2014 affidavit that she wonders whether her refusal to grant regular sexual favors to Golubski prompted him to retaliate against her son. In 2022, the local government agreed to pay $12.5 million to McIntyre and his mother to settle a lawsuit after a deposition in which Golubski invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent 555 times. The state also paid McIntyre $1.5 million. The last name of a woman who says the ex-detective harassed her for years has been corrected. She is Anita Randle-Stanley, not Randel-Stanley. Hollingsworth and Ingram reported from Edwardsville, Kansas.Trump taps forceful ally of hard-line immigration policies to head Customs and Border Protection

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel gets 5-year contract extensionNone

STILLWATER, Okla. – Jane was perhaps only two days away from death when she wobbled out to meet the people who would help her live her best life and become a superstar. Jane was a diminutive potbelly pig who was stuck and neglected in a hoarding situation. Keeping herself small in a dirty hovel, her hooves were so long they curled under and she could barely walk. Her skin was scaly and hard from untreated mange and a tumor the size of a cantaloupe hung from her body. Jane, a pink and black pig, also had cancer. Somehow she survived her situation and awoke one morning to find people who crowded about her in consternation – people who would then care for her physically and emotionally until the end of her life. The Misfits of Oz had taken one look at her and decided she would have a beautiful life from then on, no matter what it took. As she rehabilitated and battled cancer, the world then rallied around Jane. People from more than 30 countries had breakfast with Jane on social media, watched her fight disease and wore T-shirts that said “Strong Like Jane.” Now a book has been published about the little pig and her resilience, her dreams, her smile and how she inspired people around the globe – "Jane's Squad" – in a movement called #StrongLikeJane. Jane is sadly gone, but the woman who initially helped her, Shanda Harris, and her “Misfits” remain. Next week, they will travel from the mountains of New Mexico to a new farm in Yale in Payne County. There are 41 pigs, eight dogs, three cats, one goat and one sheep who will be new residents of the state as they move by trailer, truck and van from the snow to the plains. The Misfits of Oz Farm Sanctuary offers safe place for neglected or abused farm animals. It is a nonprofit sanctuary where animals get to live out their natural lives. While many rescue organizations help dogs and cats, few are able to handle large animals, which require different care. And many with Oz have special needs. While often animals are “rescued,” sanctuaries differ from rescue groups – those who end up with Oz usually are there to stay, not find new places to live. Best Friends, one of the largest animal sanctuaries in the country, works toward the goal of “no kill” for all animals as part of its mission, as does the Misfits. Best Friends has published statistics regarding animals that come from shelters or go through rescue. About 108 million owned dogs live in the U.S. That means an average of 1.56 dogs per household; in the U.S., 69 million (54%) households have a dog; and there has been a 49% increase in households with dogs in the past 10 years. About 79 million owned cats live in the U.S. That means: there’s an average of 1.74 cats per household; in the U.S., 45.3 million (35%) households have a cat; there has been a 17% increase in households with cats in the past 10 years. In 2021, 4.6 million cats and dogs entered animal shelters in the U.S. Of those, about 355,000 dogs and cats were killed. Most people surrender their companion animals to shelters for reasons other than a pet’s behavior: housing (specifically, moving), finances and caregiver or family health/death account for more than a third of animals entering shelters. Cats and dogs are surrendered to animal care because of: too many animals, 16.1% (often the result of not spaying and neutering) housing, 13.7%; inancial, 7.2%; caretaker or family health/death, 10.1%; and non-aggressive behavior/personality, 7.8%. There are 4,064 animal shelters in the U.S., of which 2,133 – 52% – are no-kill. That’s up from 24% in 2016. There is not as much data on saving, killing and rehoming numbers for farm animals, though Harris said they endure the same abuse, hoarding, neglect and starvation as smaller companion animals. Armed with this knowledge, the Misfits took on their mission and now provide compassion and care for larger animals. Harris said she wishes they did not have to exist, but it is clear too many animals that need their help. Harris said they have come to Oklahoma for the specialized vet care OSU can offer; the weather, since pigs have short legs that make moving about in snow tough, she said; and hopefully the support of their new, local community. They run mostly with the help of volunteers and by donations. Harris began the Misfits when she lived in Kansas – the “Oz” part of Misfits – in 2012. In 2015, she took in her first pig, then second and third pig and realized she loved the work of providing a safe home for these large animals, and teaching others about connection to animals. There are no such things as “micro-pigs,” Harris said; they are simply potbelly pigs that are starved. She knows being in farm country with farm animals used as food can sometimes be a tough sell. As omnivores, people love animals but also eat meat – however it must go from being farmed to their plates, so this creates an uncomfortable place in their minds when they learn about meat farming (the term is cognitive dissonance). The paradoxical question then exists: how do people care for animals, and use them as food, then, and should they? While the Misfits main mission is to provide safe haven, they also help people answer that question for themselves, Harris said. Harris herself is vegan, which was a decision she made, she said, after caring for and loving the pigs. The Misfits have already connected with a few vegan groups in Oklahoma and recently participated in a vegan event in Oklahoma City. “We do and try to promote veganism through advocacy, and teach why these animals matter ... but we are understanding, patient and kind in our approach ... as much as you love your cats and dogs, that’s how we feel about these animals," she said. "They are more than food, they are a face with soul ... they are sentient beings and we are trying to open that door so people can understand and make a connection.” The connection is subtle – like sharing Jane’s story with the thousands who watched her transform from a broken pig into one that healed and was full of love. Connection comes also in helping future veterinary medicine students to see, in part, what their future could be like working with farm animals – specifically pigs, Harris said. The group strongly advocates for veterinary care for all animals as another part of its mission. “I’m really passionate about vet care for large animals ... pigs and cows and ducks and chickens – that is one of the reasons why we wanted to be so close, to be close to people interested in large animal care where they can volunteer and be on site to see vaccinations and hoof trims, where they can see piglet age to 1,000 pound pigs and learn proper handling," Harris said. The Misfits have already held one volunteer event to help get the new site ready for the animals coming. They hope to hold a tour or luncheon in mid-December. To find the Misfits of Oz, go to their Facebook, Instagram or website, misfitsofoz.org/ , and to read the book “Strong Like Jane: The True Story of a Courageous Potbelly Pig” shop online or through the group’s website. Part of the book’s proceeds go to help the sanctuary. Anyone wishing to be a volunteer can contact the group through social media or on their website.

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Julia Wick | (TNS) Los Angeles Times As California politicos look ahead to 2025, the biggest question looming is whether Vice President Kamala Harris — a native daughter, battered just weeks ago by presidential election defeat — will enter the 2026 California governor’s race. Related Articles National Politics | Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people National Politics | Trump taps immigration hard-liner Kari Lake as head of Voice of America National Politics | Trump invites China’s Xi to his inauguration even as he threatens massive tariffs on Beijing National Politics | Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump National Politics | What Americans think about Hegseth, Gabbard and key Trump Cabinet picks AP-NORC poll Harris has yet to give any public indication on her thoughts and those close to her suggest the governorship is not immediately top of mind. But if Harris does ultimately run — and that’s a massive if — her entrée would seismically reshape the already crowded race for California’s highest office. Recent polling suggests Harris would have a major advantage, with 46% of likely voters saying they were somewhat or very likely to support her for governor in 2026, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies survey co-sponsored by The Times. “If Vice President Harris were to choose to run, I am certain that that would have a near field-clearing effect on the Democratic side,” Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, said during a recent UC Irvine panel interview . Porter, a high-profile Democrat who has been eyeing the wide-open governor’s race, has yet to say whether she plans to run. Porter’s point was broadly echoed in conversations with nearly a dozen California political operatives and strategists, several of whom requested anonymity to speak candidly. Most speculated that a Harris entry would cause some other candidates in the race to scatter, creating further upheaval in down-ballot races as a roster of ambitious politicians scramble for other opportunities. “In politics, you always let the big dogs eat first,” quipped Democratic political consultant Peter Ragone. The current gubernatorial field is a who’s who of California politicians, but lacks a clear favorite or star with widespread name recognition. The vast majority of California’s 22 million voters have yet to pay attention to the race and have little familiarity with the candidates. The list of Democratic candidates includes Los Angeles’ first Latino mayor in more than a century ( Antonio Villaraigosa ); the first female and first out LGBTQ leader of the state Senate ( Toni Atkins ); the sitting lieutenant governor and first woman to hold that post ( Eleni Kounalakis ); the state superintendent of public instruction ( Tony Thurmond ) and the former state controller ( Betty Yee ). Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is serving his second term as California governor, meaning he is ineligible to run again. Several other Democrats, including Porter, outgoing Health and Human Services Director Xavier Becerra and state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta have also publicly toyed with the idea of a run. They could be less likely to enter the fray should Harris decide to run. What the billionaire mall mogul Rick Caruso — who has also been exploring a run — would choose to do is an open question, as Caruso might contrast himself with Harris as a more centrist candidate. The real estate developer was a registered Republican until November 2019. It’s unlikely that Harris will proffer a public decision in the immediate term, leaving plenty of time for political insiders to game out hypotheticals in the weeks and months to come. Harris’ office did not respond to a request for comment. “I think every candidate for governor is trying to get some kind of intel,” Mike Trujillo, a Los Angeles-based Democratic political consultant and former Villaraigosa staffer, said of a potential Harris run. Trujillo speculated that Harris’ current state was probably similar to Hillary Clinton’s hiking sojourns in the Chappaqua woods after losing to Donald Trump in 2016, or Al Gore growing a beard in the bruising aftermath of his 2000 defeat. “The first thing she’s probably thinking about is, ‘Well, can I run again for president in four years?’ Not, ‘Do I run for governor in two years?’” said one political operative who’s worked with Harris in the past. Harris maintains a home in Brentwood and previously served as California’s senator and attorney general. A successful run for governor in 2026 would almost certainly impede a grab for the presidency in 2028. (Though if history is any guide, an unsuccessful run for California governor does not definitively preclude a bid for the Oval Office: Two years after losing the White House to John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon lost the 1962 contest for governor to Pat Brown . The Yorba Linda native became the nation’s 37th president in 1969.) As the chief executive of a state that doubles as the world’s fifth-largest economy, Harris would have more power to steer policy and make changes as a California governor than she did as vice president, where her job required deference to President Biden. But leading a state, even the nation’s most populous, could feel like small potatoes after being a heartbeat (and a few dozen electoral votes) from the presidency. The protracted slog to November 2026 would also be a stark contrast to her ill-fated 107-day sprint toward the White House, particularly for a candidate whose 2020 presidential primary campaign was dogged by allegations of infighting and mismanagement. “I don’t think Kamala Harris has a deep psychological need to be governor of California, or to be in elective office in order to feel like she can contribute to society,” said the operative who’s worked with Harris in the past. “I think some of these people do, but she’s somebody who has enough prominence that she could do a lot of big, wonderful things without having to worry about balancing California’s budget or negotiating with Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel,” the Encino Democrat who chairs the Assembly’s budget committee. Technically, Harris has until March 2026 to decide whether she enters a race. But political strategists who spoke to The Times theorized that she probably would make a move by late spring, if she chooses to do so. “People will be more annoyed if she drops in in June,” a Democratic strategist involved with one of the gubernatorial campaigns said. Sending a clear signal by February would be more “courteous,” the strategist continued, explaining that such a move would give candidates more time to potentially enter other races. Kounalakis is a longtime friend and ally of Harris’ , and the vice president also has long-term relationships with some of the other candidates and potential candidates. California has eight statewide elected offices and campaign finance laws allow candidates to fundraise interchangeably for them, meaning money already raised for a candidate’s gubernatorial campaign could easily be redirected should they decide to run for, say, lieutenant governor instead. There are already a number of candidates running for lieutenant governor, including former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, former state Sen. Steven Bradford and former state Treasurer Fiona Ma. But that office probably would see even more interest should Harris enter the gubernatorial race. It’s a largely ceremonial position, but one that has served as a launching pad for the governorship. Still, even if Harris does enter the race, Republican political strategist Mike Murphy threw cold water on the idea that she would have an automatic glide path to the governor’s office. “It’s like Hollywood. Nobody knows anything. She’s famous enough to look credible in early polling. That’s all we know for sure,” Murphy said. “Does that predict the future? No. Are there a lot of downsides (to a potential Harris candidacy)? Totally, yes.” ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Rams finally ran the ball well in New Orleans, and it kept them in the playoff race

Quaint $400K North Carolina home hits the market... but there's a catch READ MORE: Mysterious isolated island in the US is going to change forever By NOA HALFF FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 17:12, 24 November 2024 | Updated: 17:12, 24 November 2024 e-mail View comments A charming North Carolina home has hit the market with an extraordinary feature in its listing photos - a massive giraffe appearing to burst through the walls of the foyer. The $399,500 property, located at 59 Kinglet Circle in the stunning Lake Jeanette area of Greensboro, appears at first glance to be a typical suburban home. But potential buyers are doing a double-take at the property's most unexpected house guest. In addition to its quirky feature, the home includes three spacious bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an array of luxury touches including vaulted ceilings, sophisticated granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances throughout the chef's kitchen, according to the Zillow listing. The master suite offers a spa-like retreat with a garden tub and walk-in closet, as well as built-in bookshelves and hardwood floors. But the main attraction is the massive giraffe spotted bursting out of the walls that can seen as soon as you enter the home. The listing quickly went viral on social media with users making jokes about the unexpected house guest featured in the photo. One user questioned: 'Need to bring in a structural engineer to determine if that is a load bearing giraffe.' A charming North Carolina home has hit the market with an extraordinary feature in its listing photos - a massive giraffe appearing to burst through the walls of the foyer The $399,500 property, located at 59 Kinglet Circle in the stunning Lake Jeanette area of Greensboro, appears at first glance to be a typical suburban home Another commented on the potential value-add: 'Is it a real stuffed giraffe? If so, might be worth it...' ‘ACTUALLY gone wild!!!’ another chimed in. The question of whether the towering creature is genuine taxidermy of a giraffe or an elaborate and unusual art installation remains unclear. Read More We live on an isolated but beautiful US island... now life is going to change forever An unimpressed user commented: 'I've seen people build houses around trees but this is ridiculous.' One user claiming to have seen the spectacular sight in person said: 'My mother lives in this neighborhood, and I’ve been in this house. It’s somewhat off putting but the giraffe is there and it’s pretty cool.' The home is available for viewings. 'Nestled in a quiet neighborhood, with low-maintenance yard, it's ready for you to make your own. Don't miss the chance—schedule your viewing today,' the listing writes. North Carolina Share or comment on this article: Quaint $400K North Carolina home hits the market... but there's a catch e-mail Add comment